Without Reason
by Kazegami-inkpot
Summary: There had been everything to fight for. There had never been anything to doubt until now. How... how could this have possibly been the end they had asked for?
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello everyone, surprise, surprise, it's another story! Yaaay! So this is just one we started in our heads originally, but before we knew it, it came out as a rather fun looking story. The chapters will be usually turn-based, I think. The first and second chapter are written by halfdemon-kai and the third by me (Kazink) but after that you'll be guessing. Maybe this will sustain you guys until I get some chapters going in One Reality…LOL. **_

_**But oh jeez, now I have two stories to write…ouch. But halfdemon-kai needs some sort of entertainment while she's waiting for me…lol (not like she doesn't have enough stories to do though XP). Anyway, the storyline came from both our heads. Lets see how it goes, shall we?**_

_**Enjoy.**_

_**Without Reason**_

**Chapter 1**

The bars rattled as the carriage went over a large rock on the trail. She winced, hating the constant sound of horse hooves and chains. She was more annoyed than anything, having ended up in this situation at all.

They had thrown her in a cage, taken her sword away, and chained her hands together. She wasn't the only one. There were two more carriages going on ahead of them.

'_What the hell is going on around here anyway?' _She asked herself, finally deciding to push off the back of the cage. Her lime green eyes scanned the area, seeing nothing but rocks and grey skies.

"Screw this," Scion muttered, bringing her feet around.

Her black boots started kicking at the bars violently, trying to knock them loose. It was an old cage on an old carriage… it wasn't going to keep _her_ prisoner.

"Hey! Quiet up back there!" a man shouted from on top of her cage.

She continued to kick violently, not listening.

After a moment, a man jumped down from the top of the cage before grabbing onto the bars.

"I thought I told you to be quiet," he stated, his voice sounding agitated.

Scion glared up at the young man on the bars.

"We're going to be there soon anyway so be a good girl and be quiet," the young man ordered again.

She got to her feet unsteadily, finding it hard to keep her balance in the moving carriage. The girl was eye to eye with him before she head butted him through the bars.

The cart hit another rock and Scion lost her balance completely, landing on her back again. The man chuckled as he turned his head back to the girl lying down.

"You're lucky that Jion already has dibs on getting to kill you when the time comes. I would have loved to have the chance right now," the young man threatened.

"Get back up here boy, we're going to need some clearance!" an older man's voice called from the front of the carriage.

The young man glared at Scion before climbing back up the bars and to be on top of the cage.

'_Lucky my ass…' _Scion thought while rolling her eyes.

She stared up at the top of the cage, trying to ignore the sharp pain in the back of her head. Her brows furrowed together as she thought.

'_How did I end up in this mess anyway? How did things… turn out this way?' _

_**Two days ago**_

Soldiers covered the vast plain, fighting for what they thought they should be fighting for.

"Asch, why are we fighting another war against the same people?" Sin asked as she pushed a soldier away from her.

"They invaded us," Asch responded, "We have to defend the palace."

"I know that!" the girl replied, killing the soldier, "But **why** are they invading us?"

"Dailiin never got that far in explaining," the former God General muttered, killing two men.

The two fought back to back, keeping an eye out for each other as best they could.

'_This is so stupid!' _Sin grunted, using her fonons to throw a wall of men away.

"Don't over exert your self Sin," Asch ordered from behind her, "We'll all need all the strength we can hold onto for this."

"I know!" the girl retorted, "But they're not leaving me much of a choice are they?"

"This isn't a time to argue!" Asch told her.

"I'm not arguing!"

Soldiers had invaded from across the border, the same soldiers that had attacked almost two years ago. No one knew why. No one really had a reason as to why they were fighting another war. They just knew that they were fighting.

With a way clear, Asch grabbed the back of Sin's cloak and brought her back against the side of the mountain.

"Fire!" he shouted, ordering the archers above them on the mountain.

Arrows went over their heads, out into the thousands of fighting soldiers.

"What about Scion and Din?" Sin asked Asch, looking at him in worry.

"Scion learned how to create a small barrier in the last few months. She can protect herself and Din from a couple of arrows," he replied, looking out over the soldiers for the silver haired girl and straw-blond man.

"Here comes some more, Asch!"

* * *

Seven people stood across the plain, on a mountain side, all of them watching the raging war below them.

"Do you see them?" a man asked, looking out into the many soldiers; scanning them.

"I found them," a young teenaged boy stated, his tone emotionless.

"I want to see that girl get out of this one," the same man stated, looking for the silver hair.

"We can't have you killing the Presence of Moonlight, Jion," Aeros continued, "You're the boss, you should know that."

"I wasn't going to **kill** her."

"Replicas have limits, master Jion," a larger man stated, glaring out onto the field.

"I know Hugo, but that girl seems different," Jion almost laughed, "She's got a lot of fight in her."

Aeros's dark eyes glanced to the far left to look at the bottom of a small cliff, under all the enemy's archers.

"So does the Eyes of the Demon apparently," he murmured as he watched the small black haired girl fight.

"Should we move in sir?" a blond haired woman asked; her voice stoic as she watched.

"Not yet Levaia. Let's give them some time to tire themselves out," Jion stated, smirking slightly.

"As you wish sir."

* * *

Scion started to become frustrated with the amount of soldiers that kept piling in on her. It made her wonder on how her three brothers had fought like this for months.

"Damn it," she hissed, cutting a soldier's head off, "I wish they would stop shooting stupid arrows!"

She held up her sword to block the ones coming at her and looked around for the straw-blond. Once she had found him, she created a small barrier over his head.

'_He's lucky that I love him or else he would have been shot ten times over.' _

An enemy came at her from behind and his blade grazed her arm before she could defend.

"Damn it," she hissed, concentrating on her fonons.

It took her a moment to concentrate enough to create a field of fonons due to the commotion occurring around her.

"Burn thy enemies with your flames; Inferno!"

The field of fonons became red before the soldiers surrounding her within the circle all burst into flame.

'_Teach them to attack from behind…' _She thought bitterly.

Scion's hands gripped the hilt of her sword tighter as she stepped out of the range of burning bodies. The onslaught of soldiers never seemed to end. Where the hell were they all coming from? After the last war they shouldn't have even had that many soldiers left. She grunted as she swung her blue sword around her, the large blade cutting through close range enemies.

'_At least I get to make up for the deaths of my brothers on someone else.' _She thought darkly, attacking as many soldiers that were close enough for her to kill.

* * *

The former God General took down most of the soldiers easily. He had been fighting longer; much longer than many of these soldiers. Sin didn't seem to be having much of a problem with them either. The only problem seemed to be the quantity of which they were attacking. The enemy had fewer soldiers, but the soldiers were attacking them in pairs or in groups of three.

'_There are so many things wrong with this war…' _He thought to himself as he killed another enemy soldier.

"Hey Asch," Sin called over the sound of clashing metals, "Why are those people just standing on the mountain over there?"

His emerald eyes cast up to the far cliff side, catching sight of seven people lingering on the mountain; observing.

"They're just watching," Sin stated, knocking down an enemy twice the size of her, "I wonder what they're thinking."

"They're probably the ones in charge," he murmured as he knocked another enemy away and looked closely at the group.

The taller man – the large one – he looked so familiar... His height and demeanor… the way he was standing…

'_Where have I seen him before?' _

The more they fought in this war, the more confusing it seemed to get. He kept grabbing pieces of it in his mind that didn't want to fit together. The pieces that he wanted to fit together wouldn't. The pieces that he already had didn't. The whole thing was wracking on his patience in this war.

'_What exactly are we putting out lives on the line for?' _He asked himself with narrowed eyes.

Asch's mind started to try to find a match to that tall man's appearance. Who out of the many people he knew was it? Once he had almost gotten the name of the person, an enemy soldier knocked him back into the cliff, pushing the name away. The former God General grunted before running the soldier through with his blade.

'_So close…' _He cursed in his mind.

"Sin, who does that taller man remind you of?" he asked her, hoping that she might be able to help.

Sin cast her demonic orange eyes up at the group of people on the mountain before throwing a wall of men away. She seemed to ponder it for a few moments before her eyes held recognition.

"He's that General that got mad at you for taking over his position," she stated, swinging her weapon at an attacker, "That's who he looks like anyway."

At her words, Asch seemed to find another piece of the puzzle to this war.

'_The bastard betrayed us!' _He thought, disgusted.

His emerald eyes looked around for a trail or a way to get up to the archers. If they could get there without being caught by the seven on the mountain, then he had a plan. The archers could shoot at the group on the mountain; take them out of the factors of war.

"Come on Sin, we need to get to higher ground," Asch ordered the smaller girl, killing her attacker for her.

"Hey!"

"Don't argue, just go!"

* * *

Jion watched the silver haired girl fight against his soldiers.

"Jion, the Eyes of the Demon is moving to higher ground," Aeros told his leader, seeming indifferent.

"Good, then the Presence of Moonlight should be fighting on her own," Jion mused, smiling at the words, "Levaia, go ahead with the operation."

"As you wish sir," the woman replied, about to take her leave down the mountain.

"A-are you sure that's a good idea?" a younger pink haired girl asked.

All of them cast their eyes at the girl.

"What do you mean Aria?" Jion questioned.

Aeros turned his gaze back to the war, understanding the younger girl's meaning.

"There is a man fighting with her Jion," he stated, lifting his hand and pointing to a blond man beside the silver haired girl, "He has been there for a while and you have not noticed?"

"Watch your tongue boy," Jion threatened.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he began to think.

"Go ahead with the operation Levaia. Soran, you go in from the other side," he ordered a younger man behind him.

"Yes Jion."

Both members departed from their places and it caused Jion to smile to himself.

"Let's see you get yourself out of this situation girl," he challenged, turning his attention back to the war.

* * *

Scion fought against soldier after soldier… killing them as she made her way through. That didn't seem to matter though. Even with the help of Din, they somehow ended up completely surrounded by enemy soldiers.

"Well this looks bad," she heard Din murmur to himself.

"That's enough comments from the peanut gallery," she told him, standing back to back.

'_This is great. This reminds me of the time lady Nadelay took me in as her prisoner.' _Scion's lime green eyes became cold at the thought.

In a moment the soldiers seemed to close in around them. In the closed space, Scion had a harder time wielding her sword. She kicked a man into another soldier, creating some space around them.

"Remind me to take a nap if we make it home," Scion told Din as she ran her sword through an enemy.

"We're fighting in a war, and you're worried about taking a nap?" the straw-blond asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, I'm going to be tired when we're done," she stated.

After a few minutes, soldiers had found a way to separate the two from each other.

'_Damn it, we were doing well together…' _

Scion created a field of fonons and expanded it as mush as she could without hitting Din.

"Lightning Tempest!"

Four bolts of lightning struck the ground and began to rotate around the field of fonons. The bolts closed in and electrocuted everyone inside of it but her.

* * *

Once Asch and Sin reached the archers, they saw what was happening with their two friends.

"I'm going back down there," Sin stated before turning around and running back down the way they had come.

She knew Asch was following her, hearing his footsteps close behind.

'_I'm not going to let her be in danger alone again. I will help this time!' _Sin thought as she fought through the soldiers to try to get closer to her friends.

"Would you slow down?" Asch nearly growled at her.

"Like hell I will!" she growled back.

The smaller girl got closer and closer, only stopping when Din was thrown against her.

"Din? What's going on?" she asked him, knocking away soldiers.

"I don't know," the straw-blond muttered, "but they captured Scion."

Sin seemed to freeze at those words.

'_I wasn't able to help…' _

The small girl was hit with anger, causing her to throw all the enemy soldiers around her away with her fonons.

A hand was placed on her shoulder and Din looked behind her at Asch.

"Din, retreat to the forest," the former God General ordered, "When you're far enough away, we'll retreat too."

The straw-blond nodded, going toward the forest through the path that Asch and Sin had made.

"Asch… what are we going to do?"

"Just trust me Sin."

* * *

Aeros turned toward Jion, seeing how the plans had turned out.

"The Presence of Moonlight has been captured Jion," he told his leader emotionlessly.

"Good, then we can retreat from here," Jion stated, turning away from the war.

There was a red explosion on the battlefield, drawing Aeros's attention.

"The Eyes of the Demon is gone," the boy added, "Their General has taken her away."

"Leave her," Jion ordered, "We have one for now. The Eyes of the Demon will have to wait until our next encounter."

Hugo turned toward their leader then, an almost concerned expression on his face.

"What about that blond with the Presence of Moonlight?" the large man asked.

"Kill him. He is a complication if he is tied to her."

"…A-and the soldiers?" Aria asked, looking up at Jion.

"It was predicted that we would lose this battle," Jion stated with a shrug as he started to leave, "They were nothing but pawns."

_**Present**_

The carriage jerked forcefully to a stop. Scion pushed herself to a sitting position to see what was happening.

The clouds were still grey and the wind outside blew the carriage; rocking it slightly.

'_Where are we?'_ She asked herself, looking down the trail.

It looked like they were on top of a mountain high above the plains. Which mountain, she had no way to be sure of.

'_Why the hell are we stopping on a mountain?' _

"Hey boy, take the girl to her cell," the man from the front of the carriage ordered.

"Hey, I'm the one in charge here. Not you."

Scion scowled at the young man's voice. What was he even in charge of?

The young man jumped down on the bars and looked through them. His pale blue hair was dull against the grey sky.

"My forehead still hurts because of you," he hissed. "Maybe I should just leave you out here for the night."

"If you leave her out here then she will probably escape Soran," a familiar voice mused.

The light brown haired man made an appearance from the side of the cage. Her eyes became cold at the sight of him.

"You…" she hissed, getting to her feet.

Scion recognized him as the man that was sitting and watching on top of the mountain while she was fighting in the war.

"That's not much of a greeting," he laughed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, because prisoners are supposed to respect their captors, right?" she asked sarcastically, moving to the bars.

"I thought that we could be friends," the man teased her, finding the situation amusing.

"I would sooner cut off my left arm," the girl hissed, getting her face closer to the bars.

"Your mood sure is pleasant," he chuckled.

Scion kicked the bars at his words, making them rattle with protest.

The younger man gave the older man an almost confused look.

"It's okay Soran. I can take her to her cell."

"Are you sure Jion?" Soran asked, leaning in to whisper something into Jion's ear.

Green eyes narrowed as she watched the two men. There was a feeling in her stomach that was telling her that what was happening was wrong… that this needed to be stopped.

'_No matter what happens… I'm not going to cooperate with these people. I don't care who they are. They're not getting what they want from me.' _

"Do not be so concerned Soran," Jion told the younger man, "She cannot hurt me like that. Now go, make sure that the others have made it to their holdings."

"…As you wish Jion."

Soran departed and disappeared from her sight. Thunder boomed in the sky above them as a flash of lightning went through the sky.

"A storm on the mountains is quite dangerous girl," Jion told her as he smiled slightly, "Why not come with me to a dry place?"

"Rain's better than anything you can offer," she hissed, glaring at the man.

"Come with me, or we will make you come out."

Scion didn't comply, only backed away to the back of the cage. Why should she have obeyed someone that had put her behind bars?

"I see," he murmured, his expression not as amused as it had been. "Defiant."

Jion lifted his left hand and called someone over with his two fingers. After a few moments, a large man and another man made their appearances at the cage.

"Hugo, take the Presence of Moonlight to her cell. She will not go as willingly as I had hoped."

Both men looked at her and she stared back, challenging them to come get her.

The lock on the cage door was unlocked and the younger man climbed through the doorway. She watched him closely; waiting for him to come closer to her.

'_I could go for the doorway, but then that large man would just grab me…' _

The younger man slowly stalked forward, keeping his eyes on her as he went. His eyes were almost as cold as hers.

Drawing his sword, he lunged at Scion, using his forearm to pin her to the back of the cage by her collar bone. His sword was to her throat, his cold eyes locked with hers.

"You look like you've had a hard life," he whispered to her, his eyes narrowing.

"It doesn't seem like yours was any better," she muttered, watching him intently.

He seemed to smirk a little at her words.

"It's a shame that yours is going to end soon," the man replied.

"No sooner than yours," she hissed.

The man pulled her away from the wall before moving her to the entryway of the cage. He pushed her into the hold of Hugo's arms. They squeezed her tightly, nearly crushing her ribs. She found it hard to breathe.

Hugo led the way to what looked like an old stone shelter of some sort. There was a grey stone building with two wooden doors kept open.

"Once we're inside, keep a watch from the forest," she heard Jion order the man that had pulled her from the cage.

"Yes sir."

* * *

Asch walked ahead of Sin, leading the way back to Blue Abarath. He had used a hyperresonance to get them away from the war. They hadn't teleported too far away though; just a few miles. They needed to stay close enough to give orders to the remaining soldiers. This battle seemed to be favoring them now…at least a little.

"What do you think is happening?" the smaller girl asked, sounding worried.

"Din's probably close by," he stated, "Victory of the war isn't really something to worry about."

'_At least not until we get some answers for all of this.' _He thought with a hardened gaze.

He wouldn't put their lives on the line until he knew that what they were fighting for was worth it.

A shuffle in the bushes caught their attention and it made the former God General's hand to go to the hilt of his sword.

"Don't worry guys," a familiar voice laughed tiredly, "It's just me."

"Din!" Sin cried, nearly tackling the blond down with a hug.

"I guess it's a good thing that I decided to take a rest there," Din laughed halfheartedly, "Otherwise I probably wouldn't have found you guys."

"It's more like **we** found **you**," Asch stated, looking around the area.

"Yeah," the straw-blond laughed, shaking his head.

There was something in Din's blue eyes that caused Asch a sense of pain. It looked like the blond was hiding a feeling of shame.

"It's not your fault Din," the former God General told his friend, "They were planning that attack."

"What?" Sin nearly growled, whirling toward him.

"They were starting to leave once they had Scion. They were planning that attack," he stated again, trying to put more of the pieces together, "Why they would do all of that to capture one person is beyond me."

Asch looked at Din with a serious and stern expression.

"We're going back to the palace and getting answers for this. You, Din, are not running off to save her again," he ordered before turning his gaze to the black haired girl that had her mouth open to say something, "Don't you even think about it either."

The girl scowled at his words.

"This is a larger problem for just one person to handle."

At the moment, they didn't know what they were dealing with or why. They needed an answer before they could do anything.

'_Dailiin and Syft know something about this. This isn't just about protecting Blue Abarath…' _

* * *

The door slammed closed behind her as they threw her into the dark cell. She wasn't the only one in there. Three other people were in the same cell across from her; scared at the sight of the large man and Jion.

"Be a good girl and keep quiet for a few hours. We'll be back for you later," Jion explained, smiling at her.

She got to her feet and kicked the bars hard with her boot. A barrier threw her back against the wall, knocking the wind out of her for a minute.

"Damn it," she coughed, trying to catch her breath.

"This one's just for you and the Eyes of the Demon. So you have no choice but to behave," the man added before waving and walking down the long prison hallway.

Scion scowled at her position. These people weren't just normal soldiers and Jion wasn't a normal General. It seemed like he was like Asch; well trained and knew what he was doing.

'_This isn't normal.'_

Her lime green eyes cast toward the three people across from her. There were two teenaged boys and a young girl. One boy had bright orange hair and bright blue eyes. The older looking boy had snow white hair and purple eyes. The girl was curled into the side of the white haired boy, her red eyes wet from tears and her body shaking from fear.

"So they caught you too did they?" the orange haired boy asked, not really sounding surprised.

Scion cocked a brow at his tone.

"If they're catching older people then none of us really had a chance," he continued, almost brooding.

Scion slouched against the wall in her cell, her feet spread out in a resting position.

"You look like crap," the white haired boy stated, having an almost concerned expression on his face.

"That's what happens when you get caught in the middle of a war," she replied, "Everyone comes out looking like crap."

She felt herself laugh at the remark.

'_It doesn't matter what kind of fight it is. We all look pretty bad afterward.' _She shook her head at the thought.

"How long have you guys been here?" Scion asked, her brows furrowing at the question.

"I've been here for over a month," the silver haired boy stated, "There were twelve others here with me before… but they're dead now."

Scion's eyes widened at the statement.

"They just brought us in today, though we've been on those carriages for at least a week," the orange haired boy explained, "So we know just about as much as you do."

'_Then the older boy must know something about what's going on in this place…' _

"I-I don't like this place… I want to go home," the little girl whimpered, grasping at the white haired boy's shirt, "This place feels bad."

Scion's expression became sympathetic toward the young girl.

"What happened to the other twelve that were with you?" she asked the older boy, "What exactly… is going on in this place?"

She caught him wince at her question. Memories always were a thorn in people's sides.

"I'm not really sure, but they have five of these large tablets with writing on them. They took one after another… then none of them ever came back," the boy explained, "It's like they're gathering replicas up only to kill them."

'_Replicas… They're capturing replicas? Then why would they capture me? I'm not a replica…' _Scion wondered, confused.

"How do they know who's a replica and who's not?" she asked with a cocked brow, trying to act indifferent.

"That navy haired kid that's always with Jion can see people's auras," the orange haired boy replied, "I heard them talking about it on the way up here. The flow of a replica's aura is different from a normal person, but there are special replicas that are able to use their fonons to read this thing called a fonstone or something. I didn't really understand the whole thing."

"So these fonstones are probably those large tablets," Scion muttered.

"Probably," the white haired boy sighed.

'_This isn't right. They're getting replicas to read these things and then they're killing them like they don't mean anything.'_

Scion fell silent afterward and drifted off into her own mind. She began to wonder if the others were alright… if they had gotten away at all.

'_Please get home safely…' _

**End of Chapter 1**

_Woo! So what did you all think? Was it good? I tried my best to get all of Kazey's characters right, she says I did… but that's really up to you guys to judge though isn't it? We hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, and that you'll be returning to read the second. :D So you better be there! We'll be watching!_

_Thanks for reading the first chapter!_

_Kazink __and halfdemon-kai_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello everyone. So this is the second chapter of Without Reason, which I hope you guys know, otherwise I guess you wouldn't be here… o.O Anyway, we really hope that you like this chapter, I'm saying that for Kazey too 'cause she's not here right now, she's probably writing chapter 14 of One Reality as we speak. At least… we hope she is. _

_Thank you for your reviews. :D We really appreciate them and hearing that you enjoyed the first chapter. Hopefully you will all enjoy the second chapter just as much. _

_Enjoy._

**Chapter 2**

A fist slammed hard against the table, causing it to rattle in protest.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Asch asked Syft angrily.

There was no answer. Both Syft and Dailiin's silence pressed on the former God General's patience.

"Are you going to tell us or are you just going to stand there?" he asked, brows furrowing.

Still no answer…

"We are not putting our lives on the line for no reason. We here by take ourselves out of this war," Asch stated before turning to go to the door, "Good luck fighting this war on your own."

Two steps were taken by the former God General before Dailiin stopped him.

"Wait Asch, please," the young Empress nearly pleaded, "You're right, you all have the right to know what you're fighting for…"

Turning back around, his emerald eyes caught something in Syft's expression. It seemed agitated – angry – by what was occurring around him.

'_What is really going on around this war?' _

"When my father died he left a will for me… I was charged with the responsibility to protect something that my family has been guarding since before I was born," Dailiin started to explain, taking a seat at the table.

"What did you have to protect?" Sin asked, taking a step to be beside Asch.

'_It better be worth dying over.' _Asch thought to himself.

"A large stone tablet," she replied, "It's been hidden under the palace for decades. One of my ancestors found it and hid it down there to keep it from the eyes of others."

The former God General's eyes narrowed at Dailiin's words. Something about what she was telling them felt familiar. The mention of a stone tablet… that sounded very familiar…

"Down where?" Asch asked, his eyes locking with the brunette's.

"It's in a chamber hidden well beneath the palace," Syft stated, his arms crossed, "In a place where no one could find it."

"What is on this stone tablet?" he asked; his voice almost cautious.

'_I know I've heard something like this before… Was it back in Auldrant?' _

He caught the young Empress's face become solemn at the question. Asch couldn't help but wonder why.

"We don't really know," Dailiin admitted, "My father told me that it could be used to predict the future and that it absolutely **needed** to be kept out of the hands of an enemy. I never… really wanted to look at it…"

His fists clenched then; his jaw tightening as well. There was something like that here too? Why couldn't it all just be left back in Auldrant where it belonged? People didn't need the knowledge of knowing their futures…

"Why didn't you tell us this?" he asked with a strained voice, "Didn't you think that it would have been an important thing to know?"

"Yes… I know…" Dailiin nearly murmured.

"Then why?" he asked again, sounding more frustrated.

A hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked back coldly behind him. There stood Din; his blue eyes worried.

"It's not worth it," he murmured to the former God General.

"We didn't tell you because we couldn't trust you with this information," Syft stated almost emotionlessly.

That drew a frozen, deadly look from Asch.

"Couldn't trust us?" Asch asked with disbelief.

"Asch," Sin called quietly.

"We were putting our lives on the line without even a reason as to why we were out there and you couldn't _trust_ us?" he growled, his face showing his anger, "What did you think we were going to do? Steal the stone for ourselves?"

Syft's expression was serious at the former God General's words and Dailiin's was apologetic. Apparently that was exactly what they were thinking.

"Asch."

"I can't believe this," he muttered, looking away from the nobles.

"Asch!" Sin called out louder.

His emerald eyes shot to look at her. Her expression was agitated, probably from having to wait for him to acknowledge her.

"What?" he asked her, his brows furrowed.

"Calm down," she whispered, nearly pleading.

His jaw clenched together in his frustration. He didn't want to _calm down_. They should have told them this a **long** time ago… They should have been warned about what they would be fighting for.

"It's not just that we thought you might steal it," Dailiin seemed to confess quietly.

This drew on all their attention, bringing on confusion.

"If you all knew about the stone and one of you was tortured for information… then you might let out the greatest secret Blue Abarath has to keep."

Asch scoffed, "None of us would do that!"

The scuffle of a foot drew his attention to Sin, her expression looking anguished.

"What's wrong?" Asch asked her, confused by her expression.

"Asch… if they were torturing you…" her voice was a whisper, "…then I would tell them…"

She looked away from him shamefully, making his eyes soften a little. He didn't know what he would do if they were torturing her…

'_I guess… I would probably do the same thing…' _

"That's our point," Syft stated, "You would put this secret second to the love of each other. We couldn't trust you with it."

"Well now that we've heard about this stone, let's see it for our own eyes," Asch stated, almost demanding more than anything.

Dailiin nodding with agreement and Syft's nod was a little more reluctant.

'_I need to see this with my own eyes.' _

* * *

Three pairs of footsteps echoed down the long hallway of prison cells. The cells were mostly empty until the middle of the long hallway. Four pairs of eyes looked up at them as their hands touched the bars of the cell.

"Take the orange haired boy," Soran ordered, giving the keys to a man beside him.

"How about you leave the boy and take someone else?" the silver haired girl asked coldly.

"We have no use for you yet," Soran replied emotionlessly.

"Let me go!" the orange haired boy growled, kicking his feet violently.

"Stop your squirming boy," the soldier stated, pulling the boy out of the cell.

"Let me go!" the boy growled again, elbowing the soldier between the legs.

The boy was released, him choosing to run away from the soldier. Soran grabbed the boy's arm and stopped him.

"If you comply with us boy, you might make it out of here alive," Soran whispered into the orange haired boy's ear.

Soran caught the boy falter in his actions before slowly nodding his head.

"You kill that boy," the silver haired girl growled, "And I swear that you will pay with your life."

"Don't worry," Soran nearly mused, "He'll come back alive."

They took the orange haired boy down the hallways of cells. They brought him to a room in the underground prison where the five large tablets stood. Soran pushed the boy to the stone tablet – the fonstone – on the end of the line.

"Read it," Soran ordered; his hand on the boy's shoulder.

The other generals were in the room, all six watching closely.

The boy hesitated before Soran squeezed his shoulder.

"Read the fonstone and you'll live longer," he stated, pushing the boy forward a little more, "Right here."

The boy seemed reluctant and his brows pressed together as he looked at the large stone.

"The Eyes of the Demon is on their way to retrieve the sixth fonstone. The Sky Generals will capture and retrieve the Eyes of the Demon, but will not proceed to collect the sixth fonstone," the boy read, wincing as he read.

His fists clenched, catching Soran's attention.

"Keep reading," the young man ordered.

"An unknown force will intervene with their efforts and stop them from taking the fonstone," the boy finished tiredly, his eyes half closing.

"What a nuisance," Jion muttered, crossing his arms.

"Wasn't it at the war as well?" Levaia questioned, her blue eyes narrowing.

"Indeed it was," Jion replied thoughtfully.

All of them seemed to ponder the thought before Jion looked at Soran.

"Take the boy back Soran. We need to consider out course of action," he ordered, dismissing the younger man.

The light blue haired man nodded before taking the boy back to his prison cell.

* * *

The five walked slowly down the winding staircase beneath the castle. Syft led the way down the long staircase, having been the only one to have ventured down there in the past. Sin walked behind Din, taking up the end of the line.

'_A stone that predicts the future… I wonder why that would bother Asch so much… What's the harm in knowing the future?' _The young girl asked herself.

As they came closer to the end of the long stairway, Sin could see the effect this stone was having on Asch. His brows were furrowed and he was more silent than usual… It wasn't like him to overreact to something to easily. He could usually stay calm or kept it hidden for a while.

They all reached the last step and Syft glared at the door to the side of the room.

"Through there," he stated, "You'll find the tablet through there."

Asch was cautious making his way to the door. When he opened it, Sin was amazed at the size of the stone tablet.

"W-what is it?" she asked with curiosity.

"A fonstone…" Asch muttered, sounding like he was seething.

"A fonstone…" Sin whispered after him.

"This tells the future?" Din questioned.

The former God General sighed at Din's question.

"There are seven fonstones. Each one tells the future, but the seventh fonstone tells the fate of the world," he explained before turning back the Dailiin, "This isn't the seventh fonstone, is it?"

She raised her brow at his question before thinking about it.

"I'm not sure…" she replied quietly, "Why do you ask?"

"The seventh will drain all the energy from any replica that reads from it for too long," he stated, his brows knitting together.

"It probably is," Syft stated, "It's the only one to be kept out of enemy hands."

'_Only replicas can read them?' _Sin asked herself curiously.

She took a step past Asch, going closer to the large stone tablet.

"Sin, don't go near it," the former God General warned.

"Why not?" she questioned, "It's just a stone."

"A stone that could kill you," he retorted, "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"What if we needed to use it and I'm the only one that can read it?" the small girl countered, "What if we could use it against them?"

"You know," Din started thoughtfully, "She does have a point."

"This isn't a debate. That thing could kill her!" Asch stated again.

"**Only** if I read it too long," she stated.

'_Come on Asch. Don't be worried over a little energy loss.'_

Sin made a face at the upset expression he was making at her. This whole thing over the fonstone really seemed to bother him.

"Smile Sunshine," she said, grinning up at him.

He looked away from her with those words.

She reached out a hand and touched his arm gently.

"Hey, I'm only going to read a little bit," the small girl assured him, "Just tell me what to look for."

"Don't look for the future," Asch said reluctantly, "Look for the sixth fonstone. Our finding it would be a piece of the future so it should still tell us where it is."

"Why are we looking for the sixth fonstone?" Din questioned with some confusion.

"If they don't have it, then we can keep them from getting it," the former God General explained, "If they have it then it will just lead us to where all the fonstones are."

Sin went over to the stone while Asch was explained. Her demonic orange eyes landed on the writing, scanning the tablet for the sixth fonstone. It had only taken a few minutes, but she could already feel her energy draining. She felt more tired than she already had been.

'_Where is it?'_ She asked herself, _'I know it's on here…' _

The words popped off the fonstone, catching her attention immediately.

"There it is!" Sin stated, reading.

"What's it say?" Din asked her, sounding curious.

"The sixth fonstone is hidden deep within a western forest, past the large waterfall and near the mountain cliffs," she read before tearing her eyes away.

Sin lost her balance; falling backward. She felt someone catch her, and she smiled at seeing all the red hair cascade around her.

"You fool," Asch murmured.

Sin grinned at his words.

"I love you too Sunshine."

"So what does this mean?" Din questioned, smiling pleasantly.

"We head west, right?" Sin asked, looking up at the former God General.

Asch nodded, "We head west."

* * *

The orange haired boy was thrown back into his cell, the older boy catching him. Scion's brows furrowed at the sight of Soran walking away.

"What happened?" the older boy asked, "What did you read about?"

"The sixth fonstone… and an unknown force…" the boy replied tiredly, closing his eyes.

'_An unknown force…' _Scion thought quietly to herself.

Her lime green eyes caught the expression on the older boy's face.

"Do you know something?" she asked him, her brows knitted together.

He looked at her almost cautiously at her question.

"If you know something, then you better tell me," she told him seriously.

"Before one of the others died… they mentioned something about an unknown force. I think it's a person interfering with the future; a person whose fonons are different from the ones that are in the stones," the older boy explained, his expression thoughtful.

'_A person that can interfere with the future…' _

The silver haired girl became thoughtful as well. How could someone be completely, physically detached from the rest of the world? Was that even possible? Her thoughts were cut short when footsteps echoed down the hallway again. Her brows furrowed as they came closer and two people stopped in front of her cell.

"Do you think you can get a hold of her again Razal?" the large man asked the man with the cold eyes.

"So you do have a name," Scion stated, staring at his short mahogany coloured hair.

The cell door opened before Razal drew his sword. She didn't rise to her feet. She wasn't scared of him.

"I do, but do you, Presence of Moonlight?" he questioned, coming closer.

'_Why do they keep calling me that?' _

"That's not my name," she stated, "Don't call me that."

"It's your title," Razal told her, "Every person has one."

"Funny, I wasn't aware that I had such a title," she nearly scoffed.

His hand grabbed her shoulder and he leaned down to her. Deep green eyes locked with her lime green ones.

"Now," he whispered, "What's your name?"

"Why does it matter? You're just going to kill me later anyway," Scion hissed, staring coldly into Razal's eyes.

He pulled Scion to her feet and pressed her back to the cell wall.

"I'm curious," the mahogany haired man stated, "So enlighten me."

"Bite me," she growled, head butting him in the forehead.

With a wince, Razal threw Scion toward the cell door before glaring at her.

"Take her to Jion," he ordered; his back to the larger man.

Hugo grabbed the chains that held her hands together and began dragging her down the long prison hallway.

Scion scowled, jerking her hands to get out of the man's hold. He didn't release her; making her scowl even more.

'_These people are probably just being used for someone else's purposes.'_

"What are you doing all this for?" she found herself asking.

Hugo didn't reply; merely ignored her.

'_Figures. Of course no one's going to tell a prisoner what's going on.' _The girl thought dully to herself.

Upon coming to an open door in the long hallway, Hugo pushed Scion into it. She turned back and glared at him; daring him to do it again.

"Where is Razal?" Jion asked, looking at Hugo.

"He decided to stay back with the other filthy creatures," the large man stated, gripping Scion's shoulder tightly.

She turned and elbowed him forcefully in the stomach, having not been tall enough to hit his face. He winced before forcing her to her knees.

"He seems to be the only one that can control her," Jion murmured thoughtfully.

"Hardly," Scion scoffed, "Tell that to his forehead."

"Shut the door Hugo," Jion ordered, "And chain her to the wall."

'_What the hell do they think they're doing?' _

Hugo jerked her roughly forward before putting a chain through the ones holding her wrists together. The girl scowled at her position on her knees.

"This is how this will work Presence of Moonlight," Jion started; his voice sounding amused, "We ask you a question and you answer truthfully. If you don't give me the information I desire then your torture will ensue."

'_Great… Another part of my life to push away…' _Scion thought dully.

"Now where is the Eyes of the Demon?" he asked.

"I don't know who that is," she replied with furrowed brows.

"That orange eyed friend of yours."

'_Sin…' _

"She's probably back in Blue Abarath by now," Scion stated, "Your soldiers weren't exactly putting up much of a fight."

Her ears caught the sound of something hitting the floor and she readied herself for anything.

"What were you defending in that war?" Jion asked, still sounding amused.

"You should know, since you're the ones that declared war," Scion retorted, her voice cold and icy.

"That is true, but did your Emperor not tell you of why you went to war?"

"No."

There was silence for a few moments. Scion assumed that he was thinking of other questions.

"What is the unknown force?" Jion questioned, his tone no longer amused.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Who or what is the unknown force?" he asked again, more demanding this time.

"Like hell I'd know," she growled back.

A hand lifted the back of her shirt and there was a pause before a whip cracked against her back.

"You must know this thing because it's been on the fonstone with the stories of you," the man stated, his whip sliding against the stone floor, "Is it one of those soldiers in your army?"

"I don't know," she stated again, her teeth clenched together.

There was another crack of the whip against her back. Her jaw tightened at the familiar sting.

It was a familiar feeling, that burning sting at her back. It reminded her too much of the time she had been lady Nadelay's prisoner half a year beforehand.

"Who is it?" Jion growled, "Is it that blond haired man?"

"I said I **don't** know!" Scion growled back.

Two more lashes.

"Take her back to her cell," he ordered, "She obviously isn't going to talk."

"Even if I** did** know, I wouldn't tell you," she hissed before being jerked to her feet, "I wouldn't tell you a damn thing."

She caught Jion smirk at her comment.

"I think you would… if that blond man's life was at risk."

Anger and hatred hit her like running into a brick wall; quick and forceful.

"How **dare** you threaten his life?" Scion growled, lunging at the man.

Hugo held tightly to the back of her shirt before striking her over the head.

* * *

Asch looked over his shoulder at the two riding horses behind him. They needed to get to the fonstone faster than the enemy. If the enemy got their hands on it… then that would lead to serious problems in the future.

"You two need to ride faster," the former God General told both Sin and Din.

"We're trying," Sin stated, "You're the one riding too fast."

'_They don't understand the danger that this brings this world into… How much this could completely change everything…' _

Reluctantly, Asch slowed his horse to their pace. He knew he didn't have to run all the horses into the ground.

"We should be almost there," Din called to him, "There's the waterfall and those mountains match the ones that were on the map."

"Good," Asch murmured, "We don't need to lose time now."

* * *

Scion grunted as Hugo threw her body into the cell. Her back was in pain and her head was muddled now. Her eyes were half open as she watched Razal close her cell door on both of them.

"Make sure it keeps breathing," Hugo stated before walking away.

'_What's… going on?' _The girl asked herself with confusion.

Razal knelt down in front of her, rolling her onto her stomach.

"Don't… touch me," she murmured, her brows pushing together with some agitation.

"If you don't stay off them then they'll get infected," her replied, his tone emotionless.

"What do you care?"

"I don't, but it's my job to keep you from dying," he continued, "So sit still."

"This coming from the guy that attempted to kill me twice?" Scion asked doubtfully.

'_I want to go home… I don't want to see this man's face. I want to see Din…' _

Her green orbs slowly drifted closed on the cold stone floor.

* * *

Three pairs of feet jumped to the ground quietly. The area was empty… there were no people around. Asch motioned for them forward, not taking the chance of being the last ones there.

"Is this the right place?" Sin asked, looking around the spaced out forest.

It would be easy to be seen by an enemy with the trees spaced so far apart.

"We should be close by," Din replied, his blue eyes scanning the area.

'_I hope it is anyway.' _The straw-blond thought to him self.

As far as Din was concerned, they didn't have time to get lost. He wanted to get Scion back; free her from being the enemy's prisoner. Though he knew that he couldn't go rushing off alone. As Asch had said, this was too big a fight for just one person to handle.

Asch stopped ahead of them and stared forward. There it was; the sixth fonstone.

"How would they even move something like that?" the straw-blond asked with some confusion.

"With a lot of people to carry it… to at least lift it onto the cart…" the former God General stated, slowly moving closer to the sixth fonstone.

When they were close enough, Din looked over the unreadable text. There was so much writing… so much of the future that could be learned.

'_What would people do with that knowledge?' _He wondered, touching the large tablet.

"Be on your guard," Asch ordered, "They're coming."

"How can you tell?" Sin questioned, confused.

"They're towing something very large."

He was right. Somewhere not too far away – closer than the waterfall – there was a rumbling through the spaced out trees.

'_I think that we're going to have our hands full with this…' _

The straw-blonde's hand went to the hilt of his sword, about to draw it.

"Wait," Asch stated thoughtfully, "Climb the trees. We'll ambush them."

* * *

Jion led the way up the mountain ahead of Hugo, Levaia, and Soran. Hugo was helping the horses pull the large cart up the mountain.

"We're here," Jion stated, looking around the open spaced area.

Levaia stepped forward, scouting the area with her blue eyes.

"There were horses here," she said, catching the horse hoof prints in the ground.

"How recent?" Jion questioned, cocking a brow.

"Very recent," she replied, "Only a short while ago."

"Keep your guards up," the man ordered, "We don't know where they are yet."

"We should have brought Aeros," Soran muttered in the back, "He could find them in a minute."

"You want to know where we are?" an unfamiliar voice growled from above.

Two men, one with flaming red hair and the other with short blond hair jumped down from both sides of the group.

"You two should mind your own business," Jion nearly mused, drawing his sword.

"We think you should stop while you're ahead," the red haired man replied before running at Jion.

Soran intercepted and knocked the red haired man away.

"Two on one? You're still not fighting fair," the red haired man muttered, swinging his sword at Soran.

"**You** are interfering with **our** work. Why should we fight fair?" the blue haired man laughed, parrying the sword.

Hugo left the cart and went to the blond haired man.

"You should have stayed home," the large man stated, watching intently.

"Why do I get the big one?"

* * *

Sin sat from her tree branch, following both Din and Asch. They were fighting two on one… hardly fair at all.

'_Cheap bastards.' _She thought, seething at the idea.

What ever happened to fighting with honor? Was there any such thing anymore?

"_We'll keep them busy Sin. All you have to do it stop whatever they're towing."_

'_Yeah, easier said than done…' _She thought dully before quietly climbing down the large tree.

Her feet touched the ground silently as she made her way to the large cart. All four of the enemies were fighting against Din and Asch. If there was any time to act, it was now.

She asked for her weapons, immediately receiving them from Asch. This was his plan. He knew what she needed to do.

The girl started to strike at the wooden wheels for the cart. Small dents and cuts started to make them selves present with her force.

'_Come on wheel… break off for me…' _Sin begged, taking another strike at the wooden wheel.

The weapon on her right arm dug deep into the wood. Her demonic orange eyes widened as she tried to pull it out.

"Oh crap," she whispered.

Lifting her foot, Sin kicked at the wheel to try to break loose. The force of her kick knocked her back, causing her to land on her butt.

"Okay," she muttered, "That's it."

* * *

Asch kicked Soran back and everything seemed to stop when there was a large explosion in the background. Everyone turned to see what had happened. His brows furrowed at Sin's actions. She had blown the cart to pieces.

"What? I tried to be discreet!"

"Fool," he muttered, swinging his sword at Jion.

His attack was blocked before he pushed Jion away.

"Now Levaia!"

The former God General's eyes were cast to the very familiar blond haired woman. Her bow was directed at Sin and his feet began to move. Soran was on his feet and in Asch's way in a moment.

"Get out of the way," Asch demanded.

"Sorry, can't do that."

'_Damn it!' _Asch hissed in his mind as he tried to get around Soran.

It only took a moment. The arrow was shot through Sin's shoulder blade. His eyes widened when he saw her immediately fall to the ground.

"Sin!" Din called, throwing Hugo back.

The blond tried to reach her, only to be knocked down by the large man.

'_No… this can't be happening…' _

Jion retreated with the blond haired woman; infuriating Asch to no end. Sin was gone, taken with them. On impulse he grabbed Soran's arm and threw him far to the side. He then pushed past Hugo to grab Din's arm, pulling him to the fonstone. Upon touching the tablet, there was an explosion and they were gone.

* * *

Scion groaned as she pushed herself onto her knees. Her stomach wouldn't stop turning; wouldn't leave her alone.

"What are you doing?" Razal questioned from the side of her cell.

She glared at him for asking.

'_This place is horrid… I hate being like this…' _

Her stomach lurched and she was confused when she started to puke.

"What's the matter?" the mahogany haired man asked, getting to his feet.

"If I knew why I was losing my guts, why would I tell you?" she coughed, trying to not do it again.

"Maybe I could stop it if I knew that it was," he suggested.

"In that case, maybe it's your presence," the girl muttered before throwing up again.

"I doubt that," he nearly chuckled.

Razal placed a hand on her shoulder, only to have her jerk out of his touch.

"Leave me alone," Scion hissed, keeping her head away from him, "I don't need your pity."

'_I don't need anyone's comfort.' _

* * *

A flash covered the sky over the city of water. Din was confused when they appeared out of thin air, in the air. Asch and the large stone and him fell from the sky, landing in the fountain. The straw-blond heard a crack in his back as he landed directly on top of the fonstone.

Through the pain, Din felt confusion. There was no gasp of air from the fountain water. He pushed himself up and looked around the large stone tablet to find Asch barely floating in the water. Ignoring the throbbing in his back, Din jumped off the fonstone and into the shallow pool.

"Asch? Hey Asch!" the blond called.

'_Damn… he's out like a light.' _

Throwing off his gloves, Din grabbed the former God General's arms and started to pull him from the fountain.

'_Sin's gone, Asch is out… This is really starting to turn the wrong way…' _Din thought with a solemn expression on his face.

"What are our chances now?"

**End of Chapter 2**

_--grabs the garbage can lid to deflect rotten veggies –_

_I hope that all the characters fit their personalities, but again that's up to all of you to decide. Thank you so much for reading, we hope to see more of your reviews in the future. The near future that is. Dun Dun! _

_Kazegami-inkpot and halfdemon-kai_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey everyone, I know that it's been a really long time since this story has been updated. Both Kazey and I are really sorry for this not being updated. Somehow it just got lost in our schedules. We're back in business and hope you enjoy it. _

_Please enjoy_

_**Chapter Three**_

He awoke slowly. Not with the unexpected start that one would get when whipped from a nightmare, but the reluctant pull of one who wanted to remain dreaming. At least in his dreams, the image of the little replica being wrenched away seemed bearable, unrealistic in the mess that was his inner thoughts. Awaking was terrible though. He knew he had failed to keep her safe – Scion too – and the guilt crushed his chest like the light drilled his eyes.

Pain.

That was all he got when he opened his eyes to reality and shook off the dream that had stalled his fears. The fears that told him that what happened had really happened, and that he should feel like the failure he certainly did.

Asch pushed himself up from the bed, inwardly cursing at the realization that he was in no pain whatsoever. There wasn't even a scratch of proof on him that would make anyone believe he had tried his hardest to protect her. He wanted to punch himself for it. He had had all his strength going in, and somehow it slipped away in the blink of an eye, just like her.

'_Sin…'_

The door creaked open. He turned his eyes onto Din, who had partially stepped into the room with a half-hearted smile.

"Hey…" the blond said gently. "You're awake."

Asch said nothing at first, knowing that stating the unimportant, obvious things was just way of hinting at the bigger things, the things that silence itself could manage to make clear.

"What happened…?" he finally asked, tilting his head down. "I'm not injured. Why am I lying here?"

Din came forward, rubbing the back of his neck. "You used your hyper…hyper….your _power_, and teleported the stone and us back to Blue Abarath. We landed in the fountain. You were completely unconscious."

The former God-General gritted his teeth together. "Over exertion…" he muttered reluctantly, "Hyperresonance can drain every ounce of energy if used too often."

"Yeah," the blond agreed. "That's twice in one week you've used it."

"I'll have to refrain for a little while…" he responded.

The thought clenched his stomach into a writhing mess. He needed that power to save Sin and hopefully Scion.

"Syft transported the sixth fonstone down to the seventh…" Din explained, his tone turning quiet as he continued, "They're both safe now…"

Asch glanced at him, and knew that that fact meant nothing compared to what both of them had given in exchange. Who cared about the fonstones?

His hands clenched the blankets roughly, his rage beginning to boil with the shame toward himself and the actions of the enemy. Just what were they thinking?

"Sin blew that transportation cart of theirs into dust," the blond stated firmly. "She managed to do that for us."

Asch let out a bitter half-laugh and turned his head away. "And I traded _her_ for a _rock_."

The blond fell silent. The former God-General was quick to realize that the situation wasn't any better for Din than it was for him. Scion was gone. Sin was gone. Their pain wasn't greater than each others. He suddenly felt even guiltier, realizing he had put his own problems above Din's _again_.

"Sorry…" he found himself murmuring.

The blond just shook his head acceptingly. In many ways he was stronger than Asch gave him credit for.

"What should we do now?" Din asked wearily, lowering his eyes and touching his chin.

The red head swung his legs out of the bed and furrowed his brows in contemplation.

"We need a direction of travel," the blue eyed man explained. "Just somewhere to start…maybe we should head back to where-"

"—How long have I been asleep?" Asch suddenly asked; his tone urgent.

Din shook his head, confused. "About four hours…Why?"

The God-General breathed a sigh of relief, running his hand through his hair.

"If I haven't missed it. I'll know which way to go."

The blond just tilted his head as Asch rose and headed out of the room, in the direction of the drawing room.

* * *

"We're here…little demon," Hugo stated, smirking as he walked around to unlock the door to her cage.

She ignored this however as she continued to gaze at the sun coming close to dusk. It was up to Asch now, and she felt useless getting so easily captured the way she did, with Levaia's sleeping arrow through her shoulder. The shot had been inhumanly fast.

"What's she looking at?" the boy with the pale blue hair asked, appearing beside the larger man with a questioning look on his face.

Sin tore her eyes away finally, feeling the tears well up from staring into the blinding light.

"I don't know…" Hugo muttered, seeming uninterested. "Been staring out there the whole damn time."

The lock clicked open, but both of them seemed to hesitate with getting in to retrieve her. She wasn't about to make it any easier.

Hugo jerked his head toward the cage. "In you go, Soran."

"I'm not getting in there this time."

"Only because the last one nearly broke your face, wimp."

Sin's eyes lit up.

'_Scion…!'_ She somehow knew.

It was almost enough to coax her out of the cage.

"Well why don't you get in then, you big oaf? See how you like it?"

Hugo lifted his chin. "Maybe I will—"

"I'll do it."

All three of them turned to see a new figure approach. His strides were long and steady, his clothes dark, his hair mahogany. His face…

The closer he got the more tense she became. The more she couldn't breathe. The smaller she felt. She thought she was going to choke. His swift strides stopped beside the two other males and the cage.

"I'll do it," he repeated.

"Ah…Razal…" Soran started, seeming to fall oddly humble with the new arrival. "Are you sure…? I can…"

But the man was already opening the door and proceeding into the cage.

Sin pushed her back tightly against the metal bars behind her, not knowing what else to do with the tightness in her body. He straightened in front of her, his eyes observing.

"You look frightened, Little Demon," he stated, his close voice making her flinch considerably. "Not a good sign that you'll survive the months ahead."

Her hands clenched beside her.

Razal crouched and turned his gaze over his shoulder. "Was she hard to obtain?"

Soran shook his head, more in thought than in denial. "Levaia's shot took her down quickly. It's the other two that'll bruise your bones."

Sin tried to listen, but she was paralyzed with the presence of the man in front of her. Any way he shifted, any time he blinked, she felt the fear swell.

His deep green eyes turned back to look into her widened orange ones. His facial features were sharp, his gaze hardened.

He looked like Asch.

"Will you head butt me like your friend did…?" he asked lowly as his hand reached out, preparing to grab her arm.

Her flight instinct turned to fight in that lightning quick moment as she jerked and then sprung at him. He seemed to expect something like this though, because his hand shot out on a different angle and grabbed her arm anyway as he spun out of the way.

It was then that she forgot all that Asch's training had taught her, and she began to thrash in the look-a-like's hold, reverting back to what she thought might have been very basic animal instincts. She couldn't stand his touch. She felt like she'd throw up from fear.

They struggled then, back and forth, dancing around the cage. Sin realized that her edge in fighting was a distant thing when the man who looked like Asch was around. It was a constant process of being distracted by the familiarity and then boiling over with anger…so much so that it shamefully clouded her vision. It made her wild…it made her a stranger to herself.

"That's Eyes of the Demon alright…" Soran murmured with a frown.

"You don't need the eyes to know it," Hugo agreed.

'_I can't ask for my weapons…'_ Sin thought, exhausted. _'It would mess up everything…the whole plan…'_

Razal overpowered her then, slamming her back against the bars and making her head spin from the pain in her shoulder. She blinked out of the daze in surprise when a snarl escaped her lips. He stared back, unafraid.

"You sicken me…" she huffed, clenching her teeth. She pulled at the forearm that was pinning her collarbone to the bars.

His green eyes didn't waver. "Weaker…" he stated lowly. "You must be the baby of the group."

She wished she could have held back the fury that engulfed her from the comment, but it slid in between her logic and caused her to savagely grasp at the fonons around her.

"Razal…!" Soran shouted, his sentence cut off with the crackling protests of the barrier on the cage.

"I'll show you…!" Sin snarled. His grip tightened.

The static ran over both of them, making Sin clench her teeth in pain. But she continued to gather the power, determined to show him that she would never give them the chance for it to be easy.

She couldn't believe he could still hold on when her body felt on the verge of going into paralysis from pain. His grip was strong though, just as his gaze was.

"L-let go!" Sin yelled in final desperation.

She released the power she had been building, but a split second before Razal had released her from his grip, and the unexpected freedom clashed with her pulse. She succeeded in pushing him away, but the horrible pain in her head and back told her that she had thrown herself harder and farther than she had thrown him.

"Ugh…" she groaned, having no choice but to slide down into a position of submission with the cloud of black hanging over her eyes.

Sensing that a presence had come to stand in front of her again, she lifted her head, although she could see nothing through her dazed eyes. There was the soft sound of shredding then, and the motion of fabric covering her eyes was so swift that she had no time to resist. Her hands were trapped behind her before she could even raise them an inch to tear it off.

"Blind the demon…" Razal murmured lowly, his cursed arms sliding under her and lifting. "And even it becomes tame-able…human…"

Sin turned her head to the direction of his face. "Don't worry. Someone less human than me… will destroy you..."

* * *

Asch stared at the piece of paper in front of him as Din stood to the side and watched. The former God General seemed so focused and intent on what he was putting down onto the page. The two of them sat in silence through the process; the blond waiting for an explanation as to what was happening. It had taken him by surprise when Asch had looked up at him.

"We need to mark this out on a map," the red head stated, pointing to the paper in front of him.

"What is it?" Din questioned, his fingers touching his chin lightly.

So much had been happening recently that it was hard to keep track of it all. Every piece of information had a place to go, as well as every detail. The two men had been doing the best with what they had to regain what they had lost.

Asch was thoughtful for a few moments, as if considering what he was about to say.

"Before we had left the other day, Sin and I had made a plan," he started, his brows pushing together, "If anything happened, she would use our connection to show us a direction to the place where they would be taking them."

"So you wrote down which way was which?" the blond asked curiously.

"Asking once was north, twice was east, three times was south, and four times was west," Asch explained, pointing in each direction on the map as he said them.

Din nodded his head at the idea. He had to admit that it was original and seemed like it would work. So long as they could find where they were when they had been separated, t would have been easy to trace where they had gone. All they really needed now was to get there…

Walking forward, the blond placed his hands on the table; his blue orbs looking at the large map of the area. He tried to trace back to where they had gone to.

"This was where we were when they took Sin," Din stated, pointing at the openly forested area, "What way did they go from there?"

Asch looked down at the paper as he rose to his feet to get a better look.

"East from here," he stated; watching Din's finger trace the paper map, "And then there were a few minutes before they turned north… for about an hour before turning east again."

Din tried to map it all out in his head as his friend described it to him. With the time lines and distance, it was a little hard to really tell when and where to turn. The two of them together working for their ultimate goal… he was sure that they would be able to put it together.

'_Just hold on you two… We'll be there as soon as we can…'_

* * *

Sin tried to struggle against whom was holding her. She couldn't see where she was being taken, but by the smell and dampness, she knew that it was underground. She tried to see through the piece of fabric that blinded her. Wit the lack of light it was in vain to try. She couldn't see anything past the barrier that blocked her vision

Suddenly the person pulling on her stopped before she heard metal reluctantly cracking open. The blindfold was pulled off before she was thrown into a prison cell. "Sin!" Scion called, getting up to catch her friend.

"Are you sure it's alright to keep them in the same cell?" Hugo questioned almost cautiously as they shut the door.

"They should be fine in there," the mahogany haired man stated, "These cells can hold them well enough."

Sin made herself sturdy with the help of Scion. Her demonic orange eyes were locked on Razal's face; her orbs filled with hatred. She could feel it – her hatred – as her hands clenched tightly. She could break down that cell door easily…

"…Yeah? Well just who do you think you are?" she growled, swinging her hand as she concentrated on her fonons.

"Sin no!" Scion cried, grabbing the girl's arm to try to stop her.

It was too late. Sin released as much force as she could against the metal bars that separated her from the men on the other side. The force was blown back though, bouncing off the cell and coming back at her. It threw her into Scion; knocking both of them against the concrete blocks at the back. She heard Scion cry out in pain at the contact, and felt her trying to push herself away from the wall.

"Scion?" the smaller girl asked with concern, trying to get off her friend.

She heard some laughing from the larger and smaller men outside the cell. They must have thought the action to have been foolish.

"Keep it up little Demon," Soran laughed with a dark smirk, "You'll end up saving us the trouble of killing both of you."

Scion scoffed, smirking herself at the man's words.

"You need a barrier cell to protect you from us," she stated, glaring at him hatefully, "You know that if you were against us one on one… your blood would be all over the floor."

Sin didn't pay attention as the three men walked away. She was more concerned about why her friend was wincing so badly. Her brows pushed together with confusion. Had they shot her in the back like they had her?

"It's fine," Scion stated, letting go of her pants that she had been grasping onto, "It's nothing to really be concerned about."

"What did they do to you?" the orange eyed girl questioned, not reassured.

"Nothing that hasn't happened before," the silver haired girl stated.

There was a tone in her voice; a humorless sense of amusement. Being in such a place for so long must have started to get to her.

"How did they manage to catch you?" Scion wondered, raising her own brow, "I figured you would have been safe at home by now."

The whole plan had gone by so quickly… she hadn't even realized how long she must have been in that carriage. What had happened to Din and Asch?

"We tried to stop them from getting the sixth fonstone. They caught me destroying their cart… and then I was out for a while…" the smaller girl trailed off, trying to remember.

"You didn't read it… did you?" Scion asked; her expression both serious and stern.

"No," Sin shook her head, "Asch would kill me if I did."

She thought about it for a few moments before looking at the green eyed girl with confusion.

"How do you know about the fonstones?"

Scion merely pointed across to the other cell holding three children before shaking her head.

"Apparently they've been using replicas for a while," the silver haired girl explained, sounding disgusted, "They use them to read the stones and then leave them for dead."

Sin looked across at the three kids, her heart sinking at seeing the little girl clinging to the oldest boy in fear.

'_That's such a horrible thing to do…' _

"Then why would they bring you here?" Sin asked Scion, her brows knitting together, "You're not a-"

Scion quickly covered the girl's mouth, "They don't know that, and the less they know the better.

All that had happened had come out of nowhere. The fonstones… the war… these enemies… How was it all really connected? Why were the puzzle pieces scattered from each other?

Her thoughts we cut off as Scion got to her feet.

"Did… Din make it back safely?" the silver haired girl wondered quietly, as if afraid to know the answer to it.

"Yeah, he's safe at home with Asch," she assured her older friend with a smile.

There was no way that those people had stopped those two from making it home safely. Not when they had a goal they needed to achieve.

"What's been happening here?" Sin wondered, looking around, "Did you find out anything?"

Scion's brows narrowed as she thought about what Sin had said. The black haired girl figured that more would have happened here than back at Blue Abarath.

"There's something called the unknown force," Scion stated; her gaze unmoving, "It has the ability to alter what's predicted on the fonstones… Like this thing is somehow different from the entire world…"

With those words, the realization had hit Sin quickly. There was only one thing that she knew of that could have possibly been different. A person whose fonons were completely different from everyone else's…

"Asch," she said aloud, trying to keep quiet, "The unknown force is Asch."

"I know you love him and that he's special to you," Scion started, shaking her head with a small smile, "but Asch is no different from any of us."

"That's not true," Sin protested, her brows pushing together.

She had been to Asch's world; she had seen it and knew how different it was from their world.

"When Asch and I disappeared, we had gone to where Asch was from," she explained, remembering the experience, "Asch was from a parallel world, one like ours. They had technology like flying airships."

Scion raised a brow with what was being told to her.

"I'm being serious. There was a man named Guy that looks exactly like Din," she continued, "And the reason Razal looks like Asch is because Razal is the Asch from this universe."

She hated to admit it to herself, but she knew the resemblance between the two men. Sin could feel lit when she stood near him; when he had looked down at her in that carriage with cold eyes. Their energy was similar as well as their presence. The two men were similar.

"So Asch can alter what happens with the fonstones?" Scion questioned, almost sounding doubtful.

"I'm sure of it."

"Okay," the silver haired girl nodded her head, "So long as you really believe it then I will too."

"Thanks."

"What are friends for?" Scion asked with a small smirk.

It was nice to know that even when they were in this dark, miserable place, they still had a little hope. They knew that they would get out of here one way or another.

* * *

His brows furrowed as he heard the two voices talking from down the corridor. He could hear both the Presence of Moonlight and the Eyes of the Demon exchanging information. When he had reached a distance to understand what they were saying, he had stopped walking.

'_Maybe I can learn something from these two...' _

"There's something called the unknown force," he heard the silver haired girl state.

Razal's brows furrowed at the mention of the unknown force. It had been on the fonstones… on all of them.

"It's Asch," the short girl said, her voice quiet.

'_The red haired general?' _Razal wondered with confusion.

He had heard Hugo explaining the man to Jion and what he was capable of doing. It had sounded like the man was able to do many things.

'_Then I guess this means that it's not the blond that was there like Jion thought…' _

"What do you think these people are going to do?"

He jumped out of thought, hearing the smaller girl's question. Now seemed like a good time to interfere.

He walked down the rest of the corridor, coming to stand before the two girls' cell. Both of them immediately stopped talking and watched him intently. Opening the cell door, he took hold of the Eyes of the Demon. The girl suddenly became frantic with his hand on her arm. It was as if his touch burned her.

"Let her go," the silver haired girl demanded, taking a step from her resting position.

As his green orbs locked with hers he could see the fire inside; he could see what she was willing to do.

"Move and I'll make sure she dies while reading the stone," the mahogany haired man threatened, pulling the Eyes of the Demon to her feet.

He caught her hesitate with his words. She would risk her own life, but she would never risk the life of someone she held dear.

"Now be good while I'm gone," he ordered, dragging the smaller girl down the hallway with him.

* * *

Sin stood in silence as six people stood around her as well as Razal standing beside her with her arm tightly in his hand. She glared hatefully at the stone before turning her head to the side. Why the hell should she cooperate with them?

"Well go on little Demon, start reading," the mahogany haired man ordered, pushing her toward it.

"I'd get started," an older man told her, sounding almost amused, "I doubt that friend of yours is in any condition to fight right now. Do you want her life on your hands?"

Her jaw tightened at the man's words. It was hardly fair for them to feed off the care the two had for each other. How could a friend let their friends die? Everyone would rather stand in their friend's place. At least that was what her friend's were like.

"Start from here," Razal told her, pointing at where they had heard from last.

Reluctantly, Sin's demonic orange eyes landed to where the man had pointed. They went over the words quickly, trying to figure out the words. If there would be a way to lie about what was being read, then these people would never know the truth.

"The sixth fonstone will be taken to the seventh within the city of water. The Sky Generals will make their plans to succeed in future events, though one shall reach their end within the next few days."

Sin winced as she could feel the stone burning at her body. As he eyes continued on, she read something that made her heart turn with discomfort.

'_Scion…'_

* * *

Scion groaned as she rested against the stone cold floor. Her stomach started to protest again. She knew what it meant to feel the vile, water like substance coming to her mouth. Getting to her hands and knees, she started to throw up once again.

'_Why… why is this happening to me?' _

_**End of Chapter 3**_

_Sorry again for the long wait, we hope that this chapter was well worth the wait and the fourth chapter will be coming out shortly as well. _


	4. Chapter 4

_We're keeping it up with the updates! Look forward for more chapters to come on the horizon!_

_I had to cut some things out of this chapter because I didn't really want to expand on it so I thought it would be easier to just remove the concept entirely. I hope that it still make sense and that you all enjoy it._

_Enjoy!_

_**Chapter 4**_

The middle of the night… Darkness cast over the four other sleeping forms in the two cells. The moonlight shone through the higher window, bringing a little light into the prison.

Even with the silence and the darkness, he found that he couldn't sleep long enough. A few minutes at a time were all that he was able to gain.

'_I wonder why this girl doesn't show any sign of fear to being a prisoner… Why does she show no pain in what she is going through?' _Razal asked himself as he watched the Presence of Moonlight sleep soundly.

He had to admit that she made him curious. No woman or replica had ever shown him a sign that they weren't afraid of him. None… none except for her.

'_What is it that makes you so hard on the inside?' _

Slowly, the mahogany haired man rose to his feet. He hardly made a sound as he went over to her sleeping form.

'_What makes you so unafraid?' _

There had been something he had seen on her. It wasn't the cold look in her eyes or her words that came from her mouth, but the skin showing on her back. He was sure that he had seen the thin white lines that were on both of her arms. On her back he knew he had seen the light edges of something through the scabbed whip marks and blood.

In his interest, Razal's hand slowly lifted the back of the silver haired girl's shirt. Dark green eyes peered at the skin before his expression became a little confused.

There were thick white lines across every inch of the girl's back; all similar to the fresh whip marks.

"I see," he whispered before looking away.

'_She's been tortured before then…'_ The mahogany haired man thought, dropping his eyes.

What kind of life would that have been? How hard would it have been to be able to push past such a thing?

"You win," he murmured before going back to his place against the cell wall, "Your life was worse than mine."

* * *

Din walked down the hallway toward the drawing room. Asch had called for him, but he didn't know why. The former God General should have been taking this time to regain his lost strength, not running all over the place.

'_What is he thinking?' _The straw-blond asked with some confusion.

Opening the door, his blue eyes landed on the red haired man standing in the room. Asch was staring at the maps, looking all of them over more than once.

"What's the matter?" Din questioned, coming into the room.

"We need to leave," Asch stated, not looking away from the table.

"We can't leave now," the blond stated after.

"…Why not?" Asch asked, frustrated, "They're _both_ being held as prisoners. We need to get them out of there."

"You think I don't know that?" Din asked, his brows furrowed, "You're not the only one losing sleep over it."

There was a moment of silence – a moment of tension – between the two friends.

"Your body is tired and weak. You're in no condition to be traveling and fighting right now," Din protested, shaking his head.

"I would rather leave now and be tired when I get there and _know_ that they are safe," the red headed man stated icily.

"If we left with you in this condition then you would slow us down and be of no use to us later. You wouldn't be able to do anything to save her if her life was in danger."

The blond could feel Asch's eyes glaring at him for his remark, but he knew that he was right. What was the point in getting there and being too tired to do anything?

'_He can't be crazy enough to put himself in that kind of danger.' _

Din locked eyes with Asch and he watched the former God General furrow his brows in his frustration.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing," Asch hissed; nearly brooding over the situation.

The blond couldn't help but sigh. What _was_ there for them to do?

'_We don't exactly have a lot of choices right now… We either sit here or head out right now.'_ The blond thought solemnly to himself.

* * *

Sin watched as the light blue haired man come to unlock the cell door. Her demonic orange eyes glared at him from the back of her cell.

"What's the matter Little Demon?" Soran laughed as he took a step inside.

'_Those people… why do they keep coming to make me read the fonstone? What's the point?'_

Soran came to be at her feet and in a moment, she swung her right foot to take out both of his legs. It only took a second for him to be lying on his back. She didn't move from her spot on floor, knowing that she would just be caught.

"I'm really starting to hate you things," he growled, slowly getting to his feet.

"I already hated you," the smaller girl stated, watching him slowly gain his balance.

He grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her to her feet.

"You're very confident for someone so small," he said lowly; his tone threatening.

"You need to be when you're my height," she muttered, kicking him between his legs.

Soran fell to his knees before the large man stood in the way of the cell door.

"It's about… time," the light blue haired man hissed, glaring behind him.

"Just thought that I would watch the show," Hugo mused.

"You prick," Soran muttered.

Sin glared at Hugo, having remembered him.

"Why the hell are you doing this to Blue Abarath?" she asked him, stepping around the hurting Soran, "You used to be on our side."

"Once that bastard took my position, there was no point in staying there," Hugo explained, smirking, "So I thought that I would get payback and join the other side."

"The only bastards around here are you and that Razal," she growled hatefully.

"I'll be sure to tell him that you say so."

* * *

Scion stared at the children in the cells across from her. The girl was still curled into the side of the older boy; clenching his clothes tightly. The orange haired boy was staring at the ceiling tiredly.

'_They're just kids… They don't deserve to be in a place like this…' _

Her lime green eyes fell to the floor before they caught feet walking by.

Sin looked directly at her and she felt her heart sink. They were taking her to read the fonstone again. If they kept it up like this… they were going to kill the smaller girl.

'_They're all dead if she dies. Bars can't hold me forever.' _She thought, clenching her fists. _'I need to get them all out of here…' _

Eyes glanced over at the kids before her brows furrowed.

"Hey blue boy, why not pick someone else?" Scion growled, getting to her feet.

"I hate you things," he muttered.

"Then get rid of me," she dared him.

"As much as I would enjoy that, you need to stay here," Soran stated, turning to continue down the hallway.

Her hands grabbed the bas as she tried to look after them.

"Enjoy your life while it's still yours," his voice echoed before they were gone.

Seething, Scion kicked the floor with her boot.

"For being tortured, you're still in pretty good shape," the older boy stated from the other cell.

"That was hardly torture," she muttered, "I've had worse."

"What are you thinking about doing?" he asked her, his brows cocked with curiosity.

"…Of a way to get us all out of this mess."

'_Razal must be able to get in and out if needed… I think I've seen a set of keys on him somewhere.' _

"There is no way," the orange haired boy said absentmindedly, "They are too strong for any of us."

"Together," the older girl replied, "but one on one, they can't be that tough."

Resting her head against the metal bar, Scion's brows furrowed as she wracked her brain for an idea. _'I'd do anything to get them out of here.' _

With Razal out of her cell, Scion had time to think without him judging everything that was running through her head. She actually had time to think of a plan.

* * *

Sin grunted as Hugo threw her back into her prison cell.

"Now be quiet you disgusting creature," he told her before walking away.

Slowly, she brought her knees to her chest and lay on the stone floor.

She could feel the powers of the stone taking a toll on her.

"Sin, are you okay down there?" she heard Scion's voice down the large hallway.

"Yeah," she replied as loudly as she could, "I think so."

"Just hold on okay? Don't fall asleep on me."

"Okay," Sin murmured, "I won't…"

* * *

Razal shook his head when he heard their shouting. They were separated for talking. Now they were _still_ talking from twelve cells apart.

When he caught her with her hands on the bars and her eyes following him, he smiled inwardly. He didn't know why it made him smile; possibly the expression on her face that didn't quite hide the surprise in her eyes. Or the fact that her eyes were cautious to every move he made around her.

"Were you hoping that I wasn't coming back?" he asked with a raised brow.

"I was hoping that you fell down the mountain side," the Presence of Moonlight stated; her tone dull and emotionless.

Walking into her cell, he shut the door behind him. He watched her move away from the bars and turn to face him.

"Come back for guard duty, or are you going to take me elsewhere?" she questioned, he brows pushing together as she spoke.

'_She's always on her guard… though I guess I can't really say that I blame her.' _Razal thought as he watched her.

"Which one would you prefer?" the mahogany haired man asked, taking a few steps toward her.

She didn't move, unafraid by his action.

He dared to press his luck and took a couple more steps toward her.

"You know, my forehead still hurts because of you," he told her.

She smirked at his comment.

"Aw, you want me to kiss it better?" the silver haired girl asked sarcastically.

"Even if a lover said yes, you wouldn't do it," Razal stated before closing the distance between them.

His arm was on her collar bone, pinning her against the wall. She hardly winced at the pressure on her wounds. Just as she wasn't afraid of him, he wasn't afraid of her. He knew that what he felt was hardly fear at all.

His face was close to hers and he inwardly let out a laugh.

'_She must really hate this.' _

"I never got your name, Presence of Moonlight," he murmured, his deep green eyes locking with her lime green ones.

"Stop calling me that," she girl said lowly, her brows furrowed.

"I have nothing else to call you by," he stated, a little amused, "So you may as well give me your name."

Her scowl was pleasant to see; acknowledgement that he was getting under her skin.

"My name is Scion," she reluctantly murmured, looking away from him.

'_Scion…' _

His eyes lingered on her face for a few moments before he noticed the red showing on her cheeks.

'_Is she embarrassed?'_ Razal wondered with some confusion.

There wasn't anything to be embarrassed about.

"Was that difficult?" he asked her, leaning in a bit closer.

Something turned in the pit of his stomach when her eyes met his then. It was a pleasant feeling to have… enjoyable…

'_I wonder what she would do if I…' _

He leant in and his lips captured hers. After a moment, he pulled away and looked at her flushed face. He moved his arm from her collarbone and placed both hands at her shoulders.

"Wouldn't they kill you for doing this?" Scion asked him.

"I would like to see them try," Razal murmured before kissing her again.

Her hands touched his chest before slowly moving down to his sides. He felt his back tense at her touch and he smiled against her lips.

'_For someone so fiery, she really is quite passionate…' _

Razal paused and he moved away from her. He looked away from her bright green orbs.

"Do you regret it?" he heard her ask quietly.

A chuckle escaped him and he glanced at her, "You wouldn't like that answer."

"So you do," she half laughed.

"That's the problem," the mahogany haired man murmured, "I don't regret it."

'_I really don't…' _

Pulling his hands off the wall, he moved away from her.

"I need to go," he stated quietly.

He had never locked the door, just shut it. He knew that she had taken his keys, knew that she had been planning to do something…

'_All I need to do now is wait for her to make a move.' _

* * *

Scion shook her head at what she had just done. What a horrible thing to do; to both herself and Din.

'_It was like kissing Asch!'_ She thought, shuddering at the idea.

She tried to wipe the feeling of his lips off of hers, only for it to still linger.

"Damn it," she hissed, shaking her head even more.

"Why would you let him kiss you?" the older boy asked, his brows knitted together as if she had betrayed them.

Scion scowled at his questioned before pulling the keys out of her pocket.

"I can't fight him, so I had to resort to that," she stated before going to her cell door and unlocking it.

The orange haired boy sat up with a confused expression.

"Are we getting out of here?" he asked, hopeful.

"With hope, then yes," she replied, "All we have to do is make it out of here without getting caught."

Scion grabbed the key she had seen Razal use many time. She couldn't hide the smirk that made its way to her face.

'_Now, where the hell is my sword?' _

She looked down both ways of the hallway, seeing nothing that would interfere with their escape.

"Once you're out, stay with me. Don't go running off on your own," she ordered the three replicas, unlocking their cell door.

"Okay," the older boy agreed, "Lead the way."

He lifted the small girl onto his back as he got to his feet. Once the door creaked open, the replicas followed her down the hallway to Sin's cell.

'_Damn it, I told her to stay awake!' _

Sin's eyes were closed as she lay on the cold stone floor. She looked so small on the ground; curled up in a ball.

"Sin wake up! Open your eyes right now," Scion demanded.

Immediately, the door was unlocked and swung open.

"Hey, I said wake up," she stated again, nudging the smaller girl.

"No more tapioca…" she murmured, half asleep.

"I'm not your maid," Scion stated, grabbing Sin's arm and jerking her off the ground.

"Wait… Scion?" the smaller girl questioned.

"No, I'm a fairy," the silver haired girl stated sarcastically, "Now wake up, we're getting out of here."

Shaking her head tiredly, Sin got to her feet on her own before becoming alert.

"Are we breaking out of here?" she asked with a raised brow.

Scion raised the keys with a grin, "We're breaking out."

"You thief," the smaller girl laughed.

"Shorty," Scion teased before gesturing to go, "We better hurry out of here."

"Which way is it?" the orange haired boy asked Sin.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I was blindfolded, remember?"

All eyes fell on Scion and her brows furrowed with thought. Her eyes looked to the left and right ends of the hallway.

'_Razal went left… and chances are that everyone else is to the right where the fonstones are… I wish I could remember how they brought me in here.' _

"Do you know?" the older boy asked her; a brow cocked with curiosity.

'_I'd rather take on Razal than all of them at once.' _

"Left," she replied, "We go left."

"You sure?"

"More sure than you are," she stated, going ahead before they all burst into a run.

The long hallways were empty as they ran down them. When they came to a flight of stairs, Scion slowed her run to a walk.

'_Were there stairs? We __**are**__ underground…' _

She gestured them forward with her hand.

"You all go first. I'll follow behind," the silver haired girl ordered.

"No, I'll take up the rear," Sin interjected.

"What are you talking about?"

"You seem to know where you're going. I'll protect the rear and you guard us from the front."

Sin's eyes were serious as they stared into Scion's. It made it hard to argue with the idea.

"Fine," she agreed, "Keep up your guard,"

"Always," the smaller girl grinned.

Scion went on ahead, taking the first steps up the stairs. All there was, was a long hallway with a room to the right and a doorway at the end.

'_This place could be an underground labyrinth for all we know…' _She thought to herself while going down the long hallway.

As the others followed behind her, Scion's eyes landed on the room to the right. There was the armory. All their weapons were there, including her blue sword.

'_There it is!' _She thought excitedly, opening the door to go inside.

Once she was inside, Scion grabbed her sword and a dagger.

"What are you doing?" the older boy questioned with confusion.

"Take this dagger. Only use it when it's needed to defend yourself," she told him sternly, throwing the dagger to him.

"Got it."

'_Hopefully we stand more of a chance together than separately… Hopefully we can __**all**__ get out of this alive.' _

The kids and Sin ran ahead to the door at the end of the hallway. Scion would feel it in the pit of her stomach that this was the way out of the dungeon. There was a breeze that she could feel coming from the same door… a cool breeze.

'_I wonder if that storm came after all…' _

They got to the door at a quick pace; not slowing down after they broke through the doors. None of them would have stopped if a hand hadn't grabbed Scion's shoulder and thrown her against a wall.

"You!" the silver haired girl growled, her orbs glaring at Razal hatefully.

"Scion!" Sin called, her voice worried.

All of them had stopped, standing a few feet away. Sin was crouched; ready to attack at any moment.

'_Damn it… such an inconvenience…' _Scion thought with knitted brows.

"Go!" she demanded, "Take the kids and get out of here!"

"No, I'm not letting you fight alone again!" the smaller girl protested fiercely.

"I made it out alive didn't I?" she asked, "You have to trust me and _go_!"

Scion saw Sin pause and her expression was seething as her foot took a step back.

"You better come home," Sin muttered, reluctantly turning away and taking the kids into the forest.

Suddenly there was more pressure on her back, causing her to wince.

"That was brave of you, staying behind like that," Razal said lowly, almost sounding amused as he leaned closer to her.

"You let me take the keys, didn't you?" she hissed lowly.

He nodded, but his green eyes didn't leave hers.

'_That bastard…' _

Her muscles tensed with her anger before she tried to push them both off the wall. She pushed with her legs, trying to get enough space between the wall and her back.

Thunder boomed loudly in the background as she pushed him away from her. Instinctively, her hand drew her sword and she directed the blade at Razal.

He didn't look surprised by her actions, but there was something on his face that told her that her actions hurt him.

'_Why the hell would that hurt his feelings? He probably doesn't even have any.' _

"Why would you let me take them only to _stop_ me from getting away?" Scion growled at him, clenching the hilt of her sword tightly.

"You're not going to like that answer," the mahogany haired man told her; rain starting to fall from the clouds above.

"You tricked me!" she hissed, "Why the hell would you care about my feelings?"

Razal chuckled at her words, shaking his head.

"You did no different than I," he stated, his expression stoic.

Scion gritted her teeth as the man took a step to the side. Her lime green eyes followed him closely.

"I did it out of personal gain… out of curiosity to see what you would do," he told her, watching her as well.

"What personal gain?"

"I wanted that to happen. Wanted to see how far you would go for their freedom."

"You let all four of them get away for a kiss?" Scion asked doubtfully.

A smile appeared then, a small one.

"You asked me a question before. If I regretted it or not," Razal started, taking another step, "I wish to ask _you_ that question."

"I have no desire to answer that question," the silver haired girl growled.

"…Really? I answered that question, and I answered it honestly," he stated, "I think that I'm entitled to an answer."

'_What does he want me to say? I regret it because I kissed another man behind Din's back… a man that looks like that red haired bastard…' _Her jaw tightened at the thought.

Razal seemed to wait patiently for an answer to his question, which only irritated her even more.

"I only wanted the keys."

She caught his mouth become a hard line and his eyes looked away from her.

"I'll need those back now," he told her, holding out his hand.

"They're inside the cell door. Go get them if you want them."

"Scion… I can't let you get past me."

'_He sounds like he's being apologetic for not letting me by.' _She thought with agitation.

"Do _not _call me by my name!" she growled at him, holding tightly to her sword.

"I don't want to hurt you anymore," Razal said quietly, looking at her again.

"Too bad," Scion muttered, "because I'm _not_ going back willingly!"

* * *

Sin stopped at the sound of the loud thunder. The kids stopped behind her, looking around the spaced out forest.

"Why are we stopping?" the silver haired boy asked her with confusion.

"I just thought I heard something," she replied quietly.

"That's called thunder," the orange haired boy stated dully.

The older boy smacked him in the back of the head. "Don't be a smart ass."

"Hey, don't hit me!"

"You deserved it."

"Both of you stop fighting!" Sin demanded, "Someone's probably scanning this forest as we speak. If they find us, it will be your fault."

Both boys stopped with her words and looked down shamefully.

"Now let's keep moving," the smaller girl ordered, continuing to walk.

"I-I don't think so," another girl's voice cut her off from the side. "Sister heard you and followed you out here. We can't let you get away."

'…_Sister?' _Sin wondered with some confusion.

The smaller girl turned cautiously toward the pink haired girl.

"Who are you?" she asked, her brows pushing together.

"Aria of the Sky Generals," the pink haired girl replied, "You are the Eyes of the Demon. We're going to make sure that you don't get away!"

A loud squawk from the sky caught her attention. Her demonic orange eyes were wide at the sight of the large eagle like bird.

'_Oh no… Asch!'_

* * *

The red haired General shot up from his sleeping position at the pulse in his head. His hands grasped tightly at the sheets as he waited for another to see if they were on the move again… but there wasn't. His green eyes widened as he realized that what she was requesting was her weapons.

"She's fighting," he whispered, automatically granting her permission.

Suddenly he was angry; angry at the fact that he was nowhere near her… nowhere close to her to help.

"Damn it!" he growled, getting out of bed.

Asch paced a few times in front of his bed; having half the mind to just leave now.

'_No… That would help no one…'_

The former God General went to the window, resting his arms on the cool glass as he looked out it.

'_Not even her…' _He thought, resting his head on his arm.

His green eyes looked past the city of Blue Abarath and watched the lightning flash in the distance.

"Even the weather's right," he mused darkly, "there's a storm coming… a _violent_ storm."

* * *

Scion winced as Razal kicked her in the back, throwing her forward. She coughed on her knees, trying to catch her breath. He waited for her to get to her feet, not willing to attack her while she was on her knees.

"You are weaponless and your body is weak. Stop trying and go willingly," he told her, his voice pleading.

"No," Scion coughed, unsteadily standing up.

'_She's not going to last much longer… and I have no desire to hurt her further… I don't want to make her bleed…'_

He was brought out of thought when a fist collided with his cheek bone. He stumbled back before she punched him in the stomach.

"I'm not going to quit just because someone told me to… Never again am I just going to roll over to die!" she growled at him, the ground starting to glow.

His eyes widened as he saw the field of fonons appear on the ground. She grabbed his black scarf and pulled him close.

'_What is she doing? We're standing right in the middle of it…' _

"Oh lightning of mine, strike down thy enemies… Lighting Strike!"

He winced as he felt the electricity pass through his body. Having been covered in rain, it was more painful than he thought it should have been. His body started to go numb; limbs failing him.

'_Why does she know this arte? It's hurting her too… I know it is…'_

Through his blurry vision, he could see her wincing herself. Slowly, his hands reached up to her and pulled her close to him.

When the lightning disappeared, he could feel the static still running through his body. The numbness made his body collapse; caused him to release Scion. His mind started to shut down and he closed his eyes slowly.

'_I can't move… I need to get to my feet…' _

* * *

Sin jumped into the air, dodging the large bird as it swooped down at her.

'_What the hell is this thing?'_ She asked herself, swiping her arm to strike the bird's back.

"Run!" she yelled at the kids, "Run away now!"

The boys stood motionless for a moment, not sure if it was right to run away.

"Get out of here!" she growled again.

"You won't get away!" Aria stated, about to run after them.

Once Sin's feet were on the ground, she used her fonons to pull a long branch back and let it go. The branch snapped back, throwing Aria away from the kids. The boys nodded to her before they took the young girl and ran deeper into the forest.

The bird squawked loudly before attacking Sin again; its sharp talons directed at her. The smaller girl readied herself, clenching her fists tightly.

'_Okay, I have to time this right…' _

The bird came closer, and once it was low enough to the ground Sin jumped onto its back. It only took a moment for her to slash the back of the large bird's throat. It wavered in the air before slowly crashing to the ground.

Sin tumbled off its back as it crashed, hearing Aria's horrified scream.

"Sister!" she screamed, "You killed sister!"

A field of fonons started to glow under the pink haired girl.

"Negative Gate!"

A black orb appeared beside Sin; a black orb that was growing and sucking her in. It exploded beside her; throwing her away and into the trunk of a tree.

'_What the heck was that?' _She asked herself, wincing.

"You'll pay for what you did to sister!" the pink haired girl screamed as another field of fonons appeared under her.

Immediately Sin started to move. If she stopped she could have found herself in a lot of trouble.

"Negative Gate! Negative Gate!"

Sin rolled to the side as a black orb appeared in front of her.

'_Darn it. This girl is crazy!' _

Her orange eyes narrowed as she thought about what to do.

"How about you _calm down_?" Sin growled, using her fonons to throw Aria into the air.

The girl screamed loudly at the action and the black haired girl winced when Aria hit the ground.

Aria could barely move; gasping for air. As Sin came closer, she could see that the girl was in severe pain.

"I… want to… be with… sister…" Aria gasped, closing her eyes, "Don't leave me… alone…"

"I should leave you here and let you suffer," Sin hissed, clenching her fists, "but that would be inhuman of me."

She furrowed her brows before closing her eyes at what she was about to do.

* * *

A shuffle grabbed her attention. An enormous blur clouded her mind, making it hard to open her eyes.

'_Damn it…' _

"What happened-"

"-This is a disaster-"

"-Take them both inside-"

The voices came and went quietly, grabbing her attention even more.

A hand grabbed the back of her shirt and she felt her body shift. Arms slouched beside her body, head hanging down.

'_Wake up… Wake up…'_ She ordered herself, trying to open her eyes.

"-think she's waking up!" a close voice stated loudly.

"Get her on her feet!"

Scion grunted when she was jerked to her feet. The movement helped her mind wake up to regain her bearings. She could feel the rain now; was aware that she was completely soaked by it.

"Girl!" a familiar voice growled, "Wake up!"

She tried for her own sake to see what was going on around her, only to get her eyelids open halfway. With her failure, a hand slapped her hard across the face.

Her green orbs shot open, glaring at the one in front of her. There was Jion; an angry expression on his face.

"What happened here?" the man asked her, his brows knitted together in his anger.

Scion looked away from him and at the unconscious mahogany haired man.

'_He's still breathing… I was hoping that it would kill him…' _Her eyes narrowed at the thought.

What kind of person was that man? Letting her take his keys… letting the others escape and not her… and doing it all on his own will… What was he thinking?

"Answer the question girl!" Jion growled again, more demanding.

"Ask your General when he wakes up," she muttered, giving him a cold gaze.

Another slap across the face before he grabbed the hair at the back of her head to make her look at him.

"Take your hand off her Jion," Razal's voice said weakly, "This was my own fault."

Jion and Scion both looked back at the man as he tried to get to his feet.

"She took my keys while I was asleep," he explained, "By the time I realized it, she was the last one here and the others escaped."

Scion's brows pushed together at his words. Why was he lying about what happened?

'_Who are you trying to protect? Me… or yourself?' _

_**End of Chapter 4**_

_Hope that you all enjoyed it. There's another chapter to come soon after. _


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey everyone! I know it's been a long time but I had writer's block for a while on this chapter but I finally got past it and I'm already writing chapter 6 so we are on the go. I hope that I explained more things in this chapter that were need to know and that some people found confusing. My apologies. I hope I fixed some of those questions with this chapter. _

_Sorry for the long awaited wait. _

_Enjoy!_

_: halfdemon-kai_

_**Chapter 5**_

_He sat against the wall, forced to watch as his family was murdered in front of him. His mother… his father… both of them were gone now. Tears… unending tears rolled down his cheeks at the scene. _

"_So, what is it going to be?" the murderer asked him, turning his way, "Will you join me? Or will you run away from this?"_

_His green eyes looked up at the killed with fear before he unsteadily got to his feet. His body knew the answer before he did; he started to run. He left the house and the horrid scene behind him. _

Slowly, Razal opened his eyes to the dark. His hand touched his forehead, holding it for a few moments.

'_I haven't had that memory in a long time…' _

Dropping his hand, he stared up at the ceiling.

It had been thirteen years since that day… since the day Jion had murdered his parents. He had wandered through small towns aimlessly for a few years, thinking to himself about what had happened. It had taken him those few years to realize that what Jion had done had been a favor.

His parents had abused him in his childhood; beaten him, abused him verbally, made him sleep with the horses at night… He hadn't realized how much of a favor Jion had done for him, so he went back and found Jion. He had been with Jion for the past ten years, fighting and training. So long as plans weren't taken past his moral line, he would stay where he was.

'_How long will they stay in front of that line though?' _

* * *

Scion sighed as she woke up on the floor.

'_I was hoping that I could have woken up on my own bed this morning…' _she thought groggily, slowly waking up to the world.

Her eyes opened slowly and stared at the empty cell across from her.

'_Well at least they got away safely.' _

She felt her stomach churn as she sat up. That familiar feeling of sickness… she knew what was coming again. To prolong that sickness would have been wonderful. Unfortunately, she didn't have that luxury.

"Damn it," she murmured, going to her hands and knees.

The girl's stomach lurched and she couldn't hold it in. She threw up what little food she had been given the earlier night. When her stomach lurched again, it seemed like only water had come up. Coughing, she wiped her mouth and rested herself against the cell wall.

'_Why is this happening all the time? Is it the stress of this place?' _

"You're ill," his familiar voice stated lowly.

"What's it to you?" Scion hissed, glaring at the floor.

She didn't want to look at the mahogany haired man; not after what he had done.

"A lot more than you seem to think," Razal chuckled quietly.

Her fists clenched at his words.

"You expect me to believe that you actually _care_ about me?" she asked, almost mocking him.

No response.

'_Yeah I didn't think so.'_

The lock on the cell door clicked and she glared at him; seeing his hand on the bars.

"What don't you go back to your master?" the girl asked, "He'd be glad to give you a treat."

"What are you talking about?"

Scion felt herself laugh at the question. Could he really not see it?

"He treats all of you like you're his pets. He treats you like you're no more than a dog doing what it's told. He doesn't see a loyal person, just a tool."

His eyes narrowed at her words.

"You wouldn't understand," he muttered, turning his head away.

"You'd be saying that to the wrong person," she coughed again.

'_There's not a whole lot that I don't understand anymore.'_

Her hand grasped at her stomach, trying to stop herself from losing even more from her stomach.

"I think that you're being fooled," Scion stated, "That you should be freed from being lied to, but that's your choice to make."

She turned her head away from him; looking at the ground once again. She didn't know why it mattered to her about how he was treated. Why should it have mattered? He was basically her captor. It shouldn't have mattered at all.

"You wouldn't understand," he repeated again.

Scion scoffed, "Then keep being used. It's no concern of mine."

The cell door was locked again before he strode away from her without another word. There was silence until she heard the slamming of another door… the metal rattling together violently.

Scion felt herself smile a little before pushing away from her spot on the floor. She sat on the other side of the cell and stared at the ceiling.

'_I wonder which part of what I said pissed him off…' _she thought, the smile disappearing from her lips.

"Why the hell does it matter?"

* * *

The two of them had left early that morning. Asch had been in a hurry to get to where the two girls were being held. The storm he had seen had unnerved him in a way. It was as if it was telling him that something had happened.

"How long do you think it will e until we get there?" the blond behind him wondered curiously.

He couldn't say that he really blamed him for wanting to know. They had been running all day; to the point where it was nearly nightfall now. There had been no other people on the trail they were on. Not once had they seen any other forms of life. It was hard for the red haired General to tell if that was a good thing or not.

"It looked to be almost a three day ride," Asch stated, not resting his horse, "It will still probably take another day or so."

Riding their horses as fast as they could was all they could really do to get there fast enough. Using another Hyperresonance to get there would be against them in the end. Even though he refused to admit it, Asch knew that it would take himself out of the battle and make him next to useless. For now… riding into the night was all they could really achieve.

* * *

Razal walked into the room that Jion had called him to. He stood steadily, trying to remain as if nothing had happened. Scion's words had hit him hard and he had started to consider them. There had never been a reason to doubt Jion before… so how was that girl able to make him see that there was?

"You called for me?" he questioned, looking at his leader emotionlessly.

The other Sky Generals were present in the room as well, all of them listening intently. They had meetings often, so it wasn't unnatural for them all to be there.

"We have discovered what we must do about the current situation," Jion stated, pointing to the large city of water on the map, "Since both stones have been taken there, it's been decided that we will infiltrate the palace."

Razal raised a brow with the man's words. It was such a large city with many well trained guards, and they wanted to break into the palace"

"We heard from the Eyes of the Demon that we would forcibly obtain the stones. We'll infiltrate while the unknown force it away from the city," Jion continued, "Hugo learned of a secret passage to the stone's chamber while he had been at the palace. He'll lead us in and back out easily."

Razal's brows almost pushed together at the mention of the unknown force. He had remembered hearing what the replica had said about it being the red haired General.

"_He doesn't see a loyal person; just a tool," _Scion's words stated through his memory at the thought.

He wanted to mention the information to Jion, but he wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. There was doubt in the plan to gain prosperity.

"Who would all be going?" Razal wondered, locking cold eyes on his leader.

"You will take Levaia, Hugo, and Soran to the large city. Aeros and I shall remain here."

"What about Aria?" the mahogany haired man wondered.

There was a heavy silence at the mention of the girl's name.

"She's dead," Aeros stated emotionlessly, his gaze unmoving from the stones, "The demon killed her."

"I see," Razal murmured, turning to walk away.

"Keep a hard eye on that prisoner," Jion ordered, "She's the last replica sitting in those cells, and we need her to read the final stone."

Turning his head backward, he saw the dark smirk that rested on Jion's face. Without replying, his feet led him out of the room. The way Jion had said those words… it infuriated him. Razal knew what it meant to read the seventh fonstone. All the Sky Generals had been told what would happen. The seventh stone would drain all the life from the person that read it.

'_If she reads it then…' _he paused in his steps with that thought.

What was he so afraid of? Why would the silver haired girl's death bother him so much? It was true that he had cared for her and admired her determination to remain strong. No matter what happened… the girl remained standing.

Where had his resolve suddenly vanished to?

* * *

Sin ran through the trees; her legs begging for a rest. She didn't know which way she had been going until she had seen the direction of the sun earlier in the day. She had been lost for hours, and now that the night sky rested above her, she wasn't sure she was still going in the right direction. All she knew was that she had to go south west to get close to the ocean again.

Leaving like she had, she tried to concentrate on just getting back home. She knew Scion wouldn't die, but it didn't mean that she wouldn't get hurt. It didn't stop the urge to go back the way she had come from.

'_I have to get to Asch… I have to make it home…' _the black haired girl thought before stumbling to her knees.

No one was chasing her and she knew. It was only in her haste to make it home that she had been running for so long. She wanted to just be there by now… to put this whole war behind them.

"I'm sorry…" she murmured into the ground, shaking her head.

No matter how hard she tried she couldn't shake the feeling that burned at her. She couldn't force the guilt away. She had desperately wanted to have stayed and helped her friend. Then they both could have been making this journey.

'_That's enough,' _she told herself, trying to get to her feet, _'I can't sit here feeling sorry for myself.' _

Gritting her teeth, Sin kept on running. Regretting would have to come later, when she actually had the chance to say she was sorry.

* * *

He sat against a tree trunk, his green orbs staring into the burning coals of the once burning fire. He tried to wrap his head around the whole situation that was happening. Both he and his fellow Generals had left for the city of water. They had taken horses and had been barreling through the dead of night. Their succession was guaranteed in what they were doing. The only thing about it though was that he didn't want them to succeed. As he thought about what was happening, he realized that he did not agree with Jion's ultimate goal.

By obtaining al the fonstones they could get their hands on the eighth. Bringing all the stones together and having the seventh read by a replica, the seventh stone would steal its life away. With a new found energy, all the fonstones would react and use the energy to summon the eighth.

"And from the eighth stone we shall reach prosperity," Razal murmured to himself, remembering what Jion had told him.

It would be a false prosperity he realized; one that would only be suited to Jion's liking. He wanted to remove all the replicas from this world so they couldn't interfere with the prosperity that he had set. A replicas fonons allowed them to branch off and create their own prosperities. It much resembled the way a tree's branches worked.

'_Take away all of a tree's branches and it will die…' _the mahogany haired man thought while putting his forehead on his arms.

Did that mean that the world would die?

Closing his eyes Razal tried to dismiss the thought. He may not have lived his life the way he had chose, but he knew that now was the time to make a decision. As he thought of the one that made him realize his doubt, he knew that it was not the time to decide. When the time came, he hoped that he would be able to make the right choice.

* * *

It had been two days since they had left Blue Abarath. They had taken rests through their journey, letting the horses drink and feed. Din could feel an uneasiness inside him; noticing the same with Asch's agitation. They were both in a hurry to reach their goal. Yet at the same time… what they would find on the end of this journey could very well break both of them to pieces.

Tightening his grip on the reigns, Din tried to force the thought away. No… he knew that she would be alive when he got there… they both would be. These days that lingered without her were next to unbearable. Each one burned at him; making him realize just how real the situation was.

'_I don't know how I would go through the day if she didn't come back with me…' _the blond thought, his brows pushing together tightly.

He knew that the red haired man riding ahead of him was thinking the very same things about Sin. He could see the rage that Asch would release if Sin weren't alive when he arrived. No one would be left standing against such a rage.

Blue eyes looked ahead as Asch slowed his horse to a stop. With the action, he did the same.

"What's the matter?" he questioned, raising a brow.

The former God General was silent for a moment before his head turned to look to the side.

"I can feel her," the man murmured, taking his horse to where he had been looking.

In a moment the horses were startled as a black haired girl burst through a set of bushes. She stumbled when Asch bent down to grab her by the shirt while sitting on his horse. The action merely knocked him off his horse and for him to land on top of the girl.

"What do you think you're-"

"Sin!" Asch said he name fiercely, trying to get her attention to stop her from trying to strike him.

Din laughed as the black haired girl tried to hit him and barely missed his face. It had taken her a few moments to realize who she was trying to strike.

"A-Asch," she stammered, sounding surprised at seeing him, "What are you doing here?"

"We came to look for you," the red haired man stated as he helped the girl to her feet.

Din looked around curiously. He was relieved to see Sin safely back with them. Now he expected the silver haired girl to casually walk out of the bushes with a small smirk on her face.

"Where's Scion?" Asch questioned, asking before the blond had the chance to.

Sin seemed to turn her head to the side at the question, as if having hoped that no one would ask the question.

"We were escaping… and this red haired bastard grabbed her on our way out," she started to explain quietly, her tone almost venomous, :She told us to run and she'd stay and fight."

Din's brows pushed together at what he was hearing. Why did she have to be so damn proud? Why couldn't she have asked Sin to stay and help her so they could both get away?

'_Damn it Scion…'_ he thought, his grip tightening on his horse's reigns.

"I've been running for days," she told them, shaking her head, "I fought and killed one of them after I got away and I needed to find you."

Din's blue orbs feel onto Asch, asking with his eyes what he should do.

The black haired girl sat down tiredly before shaking her head in what seemed like frustration. She looked tired and dirty; her hair filled with leaves and small twigs. She really did look like she had been running for days. Not only that, she was physically worn down.

"I think they're going to invade the palace," she continues, "They want the remaining stones, and we're not there to interfere with them…"

Hearing those words made Din's heart clench. They needed to keep the stones they had protected; they needed to keep them away from their enemy. That wasn't what he wanted though. It wasn't even close to what he wanted to do. Scion was still trapped and wasn't standing beside him as she should have been. She belonged at his side…

Shaking his head, Din turned his horse to the side to go back the way they had come. He didn't wish to this at all.

"Where are you going?" Asch questioned, looking up at his friend.

"If they're going to Blue Abarath then they need to be stopped," he said with a sigh, "We have to protect the city."

He didn't want to argue about it. The more he had the chance to think about it, the more he wanted to change his mind.

"What about Scion?" Sin asked almost urgently, nearly jumping to her feet, "We can't just leave her there-"

"I know," Din cut her off, turning his head away, "This is the last thing I want to do, but Scion is strong enough to keep standing. She's not going to die just because they tell her to."

'_Even if they get the stones… there's no way for Scion to read them,' _he thought to himself, as if trying to make the situation seem sound, _'She won't be killed by a couple pieces of dirt…' _

As if ending the argument, Din kept his horse walking. Turning away now wasn't an option. There was something he needed to do before he could get what he wanted. Other things needed to be resolved.

* * *

His deep green orbs stared out in the direction they had been heading for some time. He could see it clearly now; the city of water. After traveling for so long they seemed to have finally arrived. The journey had dragged on for what seemed like forever. For hours he had been forced to listen to Soran and Hugo's bickering. Every so often he would shoot both of them a glare to make them shut up. They would the moment they saw it.

Levaia was silent along the way with what few men they still had from the war. It would be impossible for them to lift two large fonstones on their own. Hugo – a thick headed, brutish man – couldn't even have been able to accomplish such a task alone. That was to assume they even made it into the palace to retrieve them. That task in itself was a suicide mission.

"_Then keep being used. It's no concern of mine."_

His brows furrowed as the girl's words seemed to become true. He was starting to see as she was, causing him to force himself to continue moving. The more he believed it, the more he wanted to turn around and save her from Jion.

'_Maybe that's not the only reason I want to go back…' _he thought, feeling the small ache burn at his chest.

For now it would have to be a feeling for him to ignore.

* * *

Scion sat against the cell well; her lime green orbs fixed on the light blue haired boy outside the cell. The way he stared lifelessly at her put her on edge. There was no way for her to tell what was running through his head. Her brows furrowed in frustration at the realization.

"What has you so on edge Presence of Moonlight?" the boy wondered, even his tone sounding emotionless.

"What's with that name?" she asked him, her fists clenching.

"It's a title, not a name," he seemed to correct, his eyes looking to the ground.

A title? She had accomplished nothing in her life to receive any title, let alone one called the Presence of Moonlight.

"When a person is born they grow to have their own unique attributes," the boy started to explain; his eyes unmoving, "Each person's aura is unique to them and they receive a title bound to them by fate. Each one is different from one another and no two people will be the exact same."

She scowled at what she was hearing. She didn't like being told who she was or what 'fate' had determined for her. The only person that determined her way of life was herself.

"What a load of bullshit," she muttered, shaking her head, "Do you honestly believe in fate and lead your life by it?"

The boy didn't seem to answer her; he merely turned his head away.

"You're all fools," she stated, "Every last one of you."

* * *

They walked for what seemed like house through the murky waters of the sewer under the city. The tunnels never seemed to end as they pulled the cart along behind them. It wasn't until the cart wouldn't fit anymore that Hugo finally spoke up.

"We're almost there," he stated, a small smirk on his face.

"It's about damn time," Soran hissed, "We've been walking long enough in this 'secret' tunnel."

"Well you're not the one pulling the cart are you?" Hugo growled back at the younger man, "I would love to see you do any actual physical labor."

"Who's the one doing all the fighting with the enemy?"

"Both of you shut up!" Levaia growled, "Keep it up and the whole city will know we're down here."

"Soran you can have the honors of help Hugo tow the cart out of this place," Razal stated tonelessly, having gotten annoyed by their arguing.

Although the two enjoyed arguing with one another, he knew that the two of them were really quite close. Their relationship was much like two brothers that were always competing against one another.

"But Razal-"

"Just move along will you?" Levaia hissed with frustration.

With those words Hugo continued to lead the way to a door in the side of the sewer tunnel. The man's smirk seemed to grow as he turned the doorknob and two fonstones were revealed.

"No one goes through the sewers so they probably didn't know that the door was here," the large man stated with amusement, "It leads right into the palace."

"Well that's convenient for us," Levaia stated, coming closer to inspect the fonstones.

Razal's orbs narrowed at the sight of the two stones. His stomach churned when his eyes landed on them. This meant that they were close to Jion's prosperity; close to the end of everything they all knew.

"Let's get these loaded and get out of here," he stated calmly, "I don't want to get caught down in a place like this."

* * *

The red haired General's brows furrowed when he could see the large cart being pulled by horses and a large man. His horse was put into a run when he knew what was on the back of it.

"Asch what are you doing?" Sin asked from in front of him, looking back with confusion.

"It's them," he told her, his tone dark, "They have the fonstones."

"Asch!" Din called from beside him, "We can cut them off!"

Without saying a word their horses took after the Sky Generals. There was no way that they would escape with both stones. They couldn't…

'_They can't use the Score to destroy this world…' _Asch thought bitterly, a scowl forming on his lips.

He knew the power of the Score and how it made people mindless in Auldrant. He didn't want such a thing to happen to this world too. The people that lived in this world didn't need something to control their lives.

Two people jumped from the cart and a man pointed ahead of them. Asch assumed that he was telling them to keep going.

"Din, try to stop the people on the cart!" Asch commanded, turning to go to the people that had stopped.

"Asch what should I do?" Sin asked, her voice sounding almost nervous.

She couldn't do a lot in the state she was in without wearing herself out and he couldn't protect her at the same time. He couldn't stand the idea of her getting hurt by them anymore. He was almost to the point where he couldn't control his anger.

Stopping his horse he jumped off before his sword was held tightly in his hand.

"Stay here," he told Sin, turning to walk away.

"But Asch-"

"Stay. Here," he told her again; more threatening her than anything, "If anything happens then I want you to run."

He didn't give her the chance to reply, he kept walking to stand before the two Generals. His eyes narrowed as they landed on the woman's face. The way her face was and the look in her eyes reminded him of Legretta. Everything about her was similar to the long since dead woman.

Then his brows furrowed as a sense had hit him and his green orbs glared at the mahogany haired man. Their eyes met and the man had been doing the same. It was almost like looking at Luke. The feeling coming from this being was very much the same.

'_So this is what it's like running into your self…' _Asch thought to himself, _'It's almost the same feeling…' _

"If you're just going to stand there then let us pass," the woman stated with what sounded like annoyance, "And let us be on our way with your little replica."

Anger flowed through him then. They wouldn't take her away from him every again. With her words he lunged at the red haired man with his blade. The two of them stood at a standstill; their blades pushing against one another.

Pushing each other away, the mahogany haired man watched him intently. His expression seemed unsure, almost as if he wasn't sure about how to proceed. Just by that first contact Asch could feel the similarities. Their strength could rival one another's well enough…

"…What are you?" the man questioned, "That energy… it's unlike anything I've ever felt before."

The question made Asch smirk to himself. It meant that he had never faced someone quite like himself.

"I have no obligation to answer," he stated, coming at the man once again.

Their blades connected as the mahogany haired man parried. Asch started an onslaught of attacks; moving relentlessly to not let the other man get off an attack.

He heard the string of a bow tighten and as he went to dodge, he saw an arte fly toward the blond haired woman. Turning to look back, there was Sin glaring hatefully at the woman.

"I told you to stay there!" he growled at her, his grip tightening on his sword.

"I'm still on the horse!" she nearly hissed back.

The mahogany haired man came at him then, demanding his attention. Secretly he had to admit he was grateful Sin had deflected the arrow. If she wasn't there then he would have had a harder time defeating both of them and getting away unscathed.

* * *

Din grunted as his back slid across the grass. The larger man – Hugo – had managed to punch him in the stomach; leaving him breathless. Rolling backward, he managed to avoid the blue haired man's blade. The two seemed to argue a lot, but they worked well together as a team.

'_Damn it…' _he thought with some frustration.

The cart carrying the stones was only a few feet away; the two men standing between him and it.

Parrying another attack, he went for a strike to the smaller man's chest. As the man went to block it, Din withdrew his blade and struck to the side; knocking the sword out of the man's hands. As the sword went flying Din took the chance he needed. He ran at Hugo with his sword tightly in hand. As the large man went to defend himself, the blond jumped into the air; aiming down in the man's direction. Just as Hugo was about to grab him, Din thrust his sword forward and straight through the man's chest.

In a last bit of strength Din was thrown away from him; disarming the blond in the process. Rolling across the ground, Din tried to get to his feet while watching the large man almost fall to his knees.

"Hugo!" the blue haired man cried.

"Leave me," he demanded, "Take the cart and go back to Jion. My time is through."

The blue haired man turned his gaze onto Din; hatred filling his eyes. Din knew he would want revenge and that he would probably come after him now.

"Soran go!" Hugo demanded.

Din could see the reluctance in Soran's expression as he turned to leave. As he got to his feet, he went over to the dying man with his blade in his chest.

"I'll be taking this back now," he muttered, grabbing the hilt and pulling it out of the wound.

As Din turned to look for Soran both the man and the fonstones were nowhere to be seen. He openly scowled with that knowledge. The Sky Generals now had all the pieces to the game, and it was his fault.

* * *

Razal watched the red haired General with intent eyes. They had both landed attacks on each other though only barely. They were all only minor scratches compared to the attacks' true intent. The two of them were staring each other down; neither of them showing a hint of being tired or without energy. Such a battle could last for days.

The Eyes of the Demon had gotten off the horse, finding it in her best interest to just attack Levaia head on. That case was very much true. The bow wielding woman didn't have much to offer in hand to hand combat.

"You should really learn to pay attention," the man stated as he lunged toward Razal.

"Like you're one to talk," Razal hissed; blocking the attack and forcing the other blade away.

No matter how many times their weapons clashed together, the amount of energy he felt put him in surprise. It was something he had nothing to compare it to. No even Jion gave off something so fierce. It was core shattering.

A loud scream brought him out of his thoughts and his head turned to see Levaia's bow break into two pieces. The small girl's blade was driven deep within the woman's stomach; blood spilling from the wound. He was attacked again, the man's sword slipping past his own and cutting through the side of his arm. Wincing, he retaliated by swinging his own sword toward the man's arm. The General backed up and Razal's brows narrowed. His green orbs looked to the side to catch sight of the blond haired man walking closer; blood dripping from the blade.

Razal's jaw tightened as he realized the position he was in. Most of his comrades were most likely dead, leaving him greatly out numbered.

'_Damn it…I can't die here…'_ he thought, his grip tightening on his sword, _'If I die here… then she will surely follow me soon after…' _

He openly scowled with that thought. There wasn't anything he could really do in both cases.

"What are you waiting for?" the blond asked as he drew closer, "Kill the bastard."

"Wait!" the girl protested, running to the red haired General, "Asch he might know about Scion."

His heart skipped a beat at the mention of her name. He could feel the intense gaze of the blond at the mention of it as well.

"She's safe," he told them, covering his tone to sound emotionless, "for the moment."

The blond was instantly in a fury with his words; walking closer to him. The red haired General grabbed his wrist to stop him.

This was the chance he needed. If he could convince them that if he didn't come back alive then she would die sooner than later.

"What do you mean 'for the moment'?" the blond demanded, reluctantly stopping at the General's command.

"Jion needs her to read the last fonstone since she is our last replica," Razal stated tonelessly. "Though if I do not return with the stones then they will kill her later in the day."

"Wouldn't you be without a replica then?" the red haired man questioned with narrowed brows.

"As you are aware there is more than one replica living in this world," he continued, turning his gaze to the Eyes of the Demon, "though if you release me she will live to fight another day."

The Eyes of the Demon looked up at the red haired General almost cautiously, as if afraid to know his answer.

"Go," the man stated, his gaze frozen and intent, "We've killed enough of your Generals for today."

Nodding, Razal sheathed his sword and was ready to take his leave.

"Know that if she is dead, you will be the first one to die."

Nodding once again, the mahogany haired man took his leave without another word.

* * *

"Jion!" a soldier shouted as he ran down the long hallways, "Soran's returned with the stones!"

A small smirk formed on Jion's lips with those words. They were truly very satisfying.

"Get the prisoner ready," he ordered calmly, "She'll be reading the stones once we get the others outside."

His smirk didn't fade as the soldier left. All he could feel was the satisfaction of finally being able to reach his goal… to reach prosperity.

_**End of Chapter 5**_

_We hope that you all enjoyed it. _

_Please be patient for chapter 6, it's on its way but I can only do so many things so fast. : ) _


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey everyone. Here is another long awaited chapter for the masses. I'm sorry that it has taken so long but there was a half written scene that needed to be finished and in all honesty I didn't really add to it. I apologize if it seems like you've been left hanging but I just really wanted to get this chapter posted. _

_Enjoy._

_**Chapter 6**_

As they were close to Blue Abarath, Sin rested her head against Asch's chest. Both of his arms were at her sides, making her feel safe once again. The feeling was soothing to her body; to have him so close after such a long time.

"What are you thinking about?" she questioned him absentmindedly.

"What that General had said," Asch stated quietly.

"You noticed it too?" she wondered, trying to not let Din overhear.

"He was lying about her being killed, though it didn't seem to be to save his own skin…" he murmured thoughtfully, his eyes watching forward.

"Then why did you let him go if you knew he was lying?" she wondered curiously.

She hated the man to her very core. His presence alone was enough to drive her crazy so she would have preferred him dead. But why didn't Asch?

"A feeling," he stated simply before turning the horse into a run.

Sin guessed that she would have to wait for a real answer. Though for now she was grateful to be returning home. She knew Scion would be safe for the time being. She wasn't a replica so she couldn't die from reading the stones.

'_But if she gets caught not being one… then they'll kill her for sure…' _

That thought in it self was enough to make her heart race.

* * *

The wind blew steadily across the hills of the mountains. It was almost foreboding the way it was blowing. It sent chills through him; giving him an ominous feeling. So much had happened that it tightened around his heart.

'… _So that man __**was**__ the unknown force. I've never felt such energy…' _he thought as he pulled his horse to a stop.

He had found a stable along the way to the hideout and had managed to get away with his hands on a horse. To the farmer's discontent to his actions there wasn't really much to be done about it.

Razal knew that he was low on time at that point. Soran would have arrived there with the fonstones by now. Jion would be in a hurry to put them together and make Scion read them.

"Damn it," he muttered as he reached the top of the summit where the hideout was.

The ominous feeling had proved itself. There were all the stones lined up around the silver haired girl; her hands bound together. Jion stood behind her, a fistful of hair held in his hands.

Hi heart raced at the sight, pushing his horse into a full-out run. Out of all the time to choose, why did it have to be at the last moment? Why did it have to be a choice that made no sense to him at all?

"Oh, so you're still alive Razal," Jion said with a fake smile on his face, "I knew that you wouldn't die so easily."

"Are you going to do the reading now?" the mahogany haired man questioned, looking at his leader intently.

"I wish to do this as soon as possible. I wish to rid the world of these filthy things and reach my well- deserved prosperity," Jion stated with a dark smirk on his face, "I don't need these replicas changing the future that I wish to create."

His green orbs locked with lime green and they narrowed at her expression. She was… smirking? This girl was about to face her death and she was smirking like that?

'_What are you thinking?' _

"Do you have any objections?" his leader asked, his tone almost daring him to deny what he wanted to do.

Shaking his head, Razal got off his horse and walked past the stones.

"Now that we're all ready, read the stone."

The mahogany haired man retreated into the stone building silently. There was only one thing he needed to do. He could only hope to do it in time.

* * *

The man's grip tightened on her silver locks as he pushed her head toward the seventh stone. The action had pushed away her smirk; the one his stupidity had given her. It made her wonder what would happen when she read the stone and nothing would happen with her standing there with all her energy still intact.

Pushing the thought away, she turned her lime green eyes onto the writing on the stone. As she thought… she couldn't understand even a letter written on it.

'_Well this could be interesting…'_ she thought to herself with amusement.

They would never see it coming.

"The Sky Generals will have lost two more members as they stand waiting for the eighth stone," she started, using the information she already knew, "Though these are not the only ones to be lost. Prosperity will not be reached by the remaining four and they will be no more than mere corpses."

Scion could hear some unsettled murmurs from the people that were around her. Hearing it made her smirk inwardly. It was satisfying to know she could at least cause some kind of disturbance.

"Before prosperity is reached the unknown force will interfere and take away all that there is for the Sky Generals; their armies and their lives."

Jion's grip on her hair tightened, causing her to wince at the feeling.

"The Eyes of the Demon and the unknown force will be the first to achieve prosperity," she finished, closing her eyes.

'_Should I play dead?' _she wondered, letting her body go limp.

She heard Jion grunt before throwing her to the ground.

"Useless…" he muttered hatefully, "Aeros! Soran!"

"What do you think we should do?" Aeros questioned tonelessly, sounding close by.

"We'll get rid of that blond haired man once and for all," Jion ordered, "He is the only thing standing in our way."

"And if nothing changes?" Soran asked seriously.

"Then we'll destroy the entire city of water."

Scion's jaw tightened at what she was hearing. Din was in even more danger now than he had been before.

'_They think that he is the unknown force…' _she thought with some frustration.

In her frustration she summoned a field of fonons to surround the area around the stones. With her chained hands, Scion pushed herself to her feet.

"What the hell?" Soran demanded, "Why aren't you dead?"

"You need to get your facts straight before you decide to go ahead and kidnap people," she stated with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" the blue haired man asked again.

"I am _not_ a replica," she hissed at them, "And they are not plagues upon the world. They are _people_."

"A-Aeros, did you get it wrong?"

The smaller boy shook his head at them, "She is the Presence of Moonlight."

"Then how…"

"Her aura is different because it's generating from her abdomen. The reason she has been ill is because she's pregnant."

Scion's hands clenched tightly at what she was hearing. It didn't seem like it was possible.

"Take your fonstones to hell with you," she growled hatefully, "Lightning Tempest!"

Lightning struck down in the field of fonons, surrounding all the people within it. While the attack ran its course, Scion started to run. She couldn't fight four Sky Generals alone, plus many soldiers… she would die.

As she ran, a hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to stop her for a moment. Her eyes widened as they met with deep green ones.

"Get away from me!" she demanded, trying to jerk out of his hold.

"I'm going to help you," the mahogany haired man stated fiercely, "Now stop moving so I can cut the chain."

She watched as Razal drew his sword and quickly cut the chains that bound her hands together. Handing her sword to her, he pushed her forward.

"Go."

Looking back at him for a moment, her brows pushed together at his expression. Why was he being so sincere?

Without another thought, the silver haired girl willed her legs to run. As she ran she could hear footsteps following behind her, gaining their distance. Her jaw tightened when she heard a sword being drawn from its sheath, trying to run even faster. It wasn't until a hand grabbed her wrist and spun her to the opposite side that she froze in her tracks. Her back was to another's, her heartbeat being the only thing she could hear for a few moments.

As the grip loosened, she turned back to look at who had taken the blade in her place. She had felt it hit them, the force of their body pushing against hers at the motion. Scion's lime green orbs widened when she saw Razal standing in her way.

"So you've sided with them," Jion's voice stated from the other side of Razal, his tone sounding disappointed.

There was a small, humorless laugh as the mahogany haired man shook his head.

"I've sided with her," he stated, "It's not something you would ever understand. Someone like you… doesn't deserve such a thing."

"Then feel free to die alongside her!" Jion growled angrily.

"Fissure!"

The earth underneath Jion's feet began to quake as Scion grabbed Razal's arm. The rocks violently burst through the surface; throwing Jion backward.

"You foolish woman…"

'_This man… there's nothing I can do that will make him stop following me…' _Scion thought as she wrapped the mahogany haired man's arm over her shoulder.

There wasn't much time. From the corner of her eye she could see the blood that was coming from Razal's chest. The man's blade had slashed right across his torso.

'_Noting that wouldn't harm my self in the process…' _

Gritting her teeth, the silver haired girl stretched out her hand so that her palm was facing her enemy. A small field of fonons appeared around her hand, causing her to wince as she closed her fist.

"In the darkest of night, bind us as one," Scion chanted, summoning almost all of her fonons to her being, "Death's Breach!"

A swarm of shadows burst from the ground and completely surrounded Jion's body. Turning away in that moment, she felt something clasp tightly within her chest. With a wince, she led the wounded man from the area as well as she could.

* * *

She could feel the pulsing of the bruises as she sat tiredly in the water, eyes closed, head down, trying to block out the misery that was the thought of leaving her friend behind. She could hear the trickling of the many water streams around her, but they did nothing in soothing the heavy guilt. She could see the steam around her… but the water felt cold.

The replica sunk lower so that the water drifted over her collar bone. Scion had risked her life and freedom to save them and here she was… moping. But she didn't know how else to be. Not right now.

'_I wish I could have…_' she thought, trailing off with an inward sigh.

She had been repeating the same phrase – more or less – for hours, but even in her guilt now and that panic then that was the thought of being separated from Asch, she couldn't think of anything that she - or they - could have done differently.

'_It's no use…'_ she concluded gently as she tried to lift her eyes.

There was no going back. She'd have to accept her choice.

The pain in her joints and the small cuts and bruises had faded slightly, leaving her with a weary ache. She just wanted to curl up in her warm sleeping robes and fall asleep in front of the fire; let it melt her fears away.

"Sin…" Asch's voice suddenly murmured.

The replica froze and avoided flinching too noticeably in her surprise. She turned around quickly, wide eyed. Her fears quickly melted away into embarrassment, followed by a blush.

He was gazing at her now, and she didn't miss how his eyes briefly ran over her shoulder, to the edge of the water. She had to resist biting her lip; eyes lowered as she spoke.

"Oh… Asch I… Dailiin told me to come here now… I didn't realize you were coming…" she stammered uselessly.

Flashbacks of the first time they had shared the baths unhelpfully leaked into her mind.

'_So long ago…'_ she thought, lightly touching her lip.

"It's fine," he stated shortly, his eyes still not leaving her.

She smiled sheepishly and carefully – modestly - maneuvered over to the edge of the water to grab a towel. As she reached for it however, his hand abruptly moved to stop her, preventing her from pulling it in close to her body. She blinked up at him, startled.

"Wait…" he murmured, his eyes wavering, "Don't go yet…"

Her face flushed, and suddenly the cold water she had thought about before seemed to boil all around her.

"It's okay," she replied, "I'm finished…"

He seemed to ignore her though, proceeding to lightly pull the towel from her finger tips and push it beyond her modest reach. Her heart felt like it was going into a spasm, twisting itself around in her chest like there suddenly wasn't enough space to contain it.

"I'm not," he stated.

She dipped lower in the water and turned her head away, anxious.

"If…if this is just going to be another teasing session t-then I… I…"

She heard him splash quietly into the water, but by the time she had fully turned her head in alarm he was already waist deep. She didn't have a clue what whether that waist deep part of him was covered or not. Her mind seemed to swirl then, her emotions combining with the steam around her and sending her into a daze as if she was somehow drunk.

The replica tried to shake it off quickly, closing her eyes for only a brief moment, but the steps he took toward her put her in the same – if not worse – state than she was before.

"Then you'll what… resist? … Push me away…?" he asked lowly, his hand coming up to run along her shoulder and then up her neck.

Her orange eyes fluttered then, without her consent and her head tilted hopefully into his hand. It always went like this, her wanting him to stop in the beginning and then later… her pleading, begging shamefully that he continue. He never obeyed either request.

'_I have… no control…'_ she realized somewhere in the back of her dazed mind as she let her eyes fully close and his thumb caressed her cheek.

"Look at you…" she heard him begin, his tone knowing, "You're so young… you have no idea what to do with yourself."

Her voice was barely enough for her to make out, so he leaned in. The blush that stained her cheeks became even hotter.

"… T-then why do you put me in this state?"

Instead of pulling back, he moved closer and placed his other hand right on top of her mark. Immediately the effect grabbed her, not painfully, but wholly body and mind. She felt her back being pressed firmly to a stone column behind her. Her limbs tingled and her thoughts flipped over themselves, so that she could not pull one thought away from another. It became all one thought, and she couldn't understand it. But what she did understand, each time, every time, was that she wasn't meant to think in these moments.

Asch leaned over her and moved his mouth near her ear.

"I like it," he stated simply.

Sin blinked up at him, her eyes completely glazed with longing. He smirked just slightly and moved his lips down to her neck, making her take a sharp breath in.

"And I think secretly… you like it too…"

She did like it. She loved the longing tension within her all the time, perhaps a little too much. The only thing she hated… the only part she wish wouldn't come was the part when he would pull himself away and leave her breathless and panting on the very edge of euphoria. Not pushing her over, just letting her fall – exhausted – back into her own body, back into reality. Back where she knew he could do it all again next time, as many times as he wanted… and she'd be helpless to stop him as much as she was the very first time.

"This is like when we first met, remember?" Asch asked quietly, pulling back to rest his hands on either side of her head, against the column.

She nodded slightly, a tiny smile forcing itself onto her face. Asch smiled a little as well.

"Of course…" he reached forward and brushed his fingertips along her collarbone, "Our relationship was quite different then…"

Her orange eyes softened, recalling a time when they had been no more than a problem in each other's lives. The ex-God-General reached forward slowly and grasped her hand, a hand that had been clutched in front of her. Then he gently pulled her closer and guided her with his own to rest that hand on his chest. Underneath the smooth, scarred skin, she could clearly feel his strong and steady heartbeat.

As she was quietly concentrating though, he proceeded to wrap his other arm around the small of her back and pulled their bodies together. She took a shocked breath in, feeling the embarrassment instantly strike her tiny body as her skin pressed uninterrupted against his. She lowered her head, unsure what to do with the blush that was stained onto her cheeks or the unconquered lust that was causing her teeth to clench in need.

But then his hand was under her chin, tilting her head upward gently. She complied reluctantly, afraid to let him see the weakness that she was sure was clearly written on her face. The need for physical release… him…

The former God-General reached up and pushed a few wet locks of hair from her eyes.

"But look how far we've come…" he murmured, and then his hand lowered to run along the red in her cheeks, "Look how much you've grown… You're not the angry little replica you were before…"

He trailed off for a moment then, his eyes quietly studying her face. She studied his in the meantime, realizing what was in his green eyes was far from teasing intentions, but rather a harder more passionate look.

"And you're not the young girl I thought eternity would keep you as forever… not anymore…"

The replica's eyes widened with surprise at his words. She wasn't a child anymore? How long had it been since she knew him, and every day spent was one day she wished she could be old enough for him? Regardless of all that had happened to them though, however many moments their lives had seemed to stand still, time had kept drifting on…

Suddenly, the urge to kiss him was too great, especially for someone who had no control.

"Asch…" she breathed out quietly, although his attention was already fully on her, "Thank you…"

She straightened a little, shaking off the knowledge that more of her was exposed from the cover of the warm water than she usually felt comfortable with. But still… she was compelled to initiate that one kiss…

Sin placed her other hand on his chest and leaned in, to which he responded by tilting his head and leaning down. She closed her eyes as she felt his lips run along hers. He always did that first, as if he was testing her own lips to make sure she was safe, even when she was in his embrace. Then the kiss was whole again, and becoming much more passionate with a pace she hadn't witnessed before. She kissed him back harder, but she was sure her lips were already bruised from his intensity and devotion. The sensation sent shivers throughout her. How long had it been since they had been together like this? At the time she didn't want to think… all that was there was Asch.

* * *

As Jion walked back to the hideout he was brooding about the situation. He had been betrayed by his finest General all for the sake of a woman. After all the work that he had put in for the boy, that was what his reward was? To be betrayed in the end?

"Foolish decision Razal," he muttered to himself as he came through the trees.

There were many bodies lying on the ground within where the lightning had hit. The only one he could see standing were Aeros and Soran, both of them staring at the strikes in the dirt. The man would be lying to say that the silver haired girl didn't have an immense amount of strength. She had – after all – been responsible for the destruction of a whole portion of his army.

'_She would have been a good choice to have as a General. Clearly some of my choices were lacking.'_

Aeros turned his head toward Jion, followed by Soran shortly after.

"What do we do?" Soran questioned with furrowed brows, "She was just making the whole thing up… all that wasted time…"

"Aeros, when did you realize your mistake?" Jion wondered emotionlessly.

"At that moment," the boy explained, "The other aura had become more focused at that area… I had never seen it clearly until then."

"Damn it," Soran hissed with frustration.

"Send a message to the remaining recruits," Jion stated as he walked past the massacre of dead bodies, "We'll move to another encampment and do our business there."

"As you wish," Aeros agreed.

"What do you plan on doing?"

"There is more than one way to reach prosperity Soran."

* * *

Scion sighed as she rested her head against the tree's trunk. There had been no further signs of being chased; no one following close behind. They had fled as best they could with the situation. Razal's wound was deep and had finally stopped bleeding. She had used his muffler scarf to wrap the wound and try to keep it bound. At the moment it was the only thing she could do.

The mahogany haired man lay on the ground, unconscious from his loss of blood. They were both limited at the moment.

'_That arte was probably the wrong choice.' _She thought wryly, closing her eyes.

Death's Breach was less like an arte and was more like a curse. To cast it onto someone meant to bind two souls together. When one person died, so would the other. She could feel it, the way it wrapped and burned at her heart.

"It's not like I have much to lose…" she murmured, wincing as the sensation heightened for a moment.

It had been something she had learned while studying the book she had found some time ago.

A rustle drew her attention; her lime green orbs landing on Razal. He lifted his hand and placed it on his forehead.

"Go back to sleep," Scion ordered emotionlessly, "We have a long way to go tomorrow."

There were a few moments of silence before he dropped his hand back down.

"Why did you save me?" he asked her quietly; his tone sounding confused.

"I could ask the same thing of you," she stated, getting to her feet.

Walking over to him, she knelt down beside his lying form.

"You are supposed to be my enemy," she continued, her brows pushing together, "So why would you do something so stupid?"

He opened his eyes at her question, looking at her face. He was smiling as he looked up at her. It was almost unnerving the way he was looking at her.

"You were right," he told her lowly, almost sounding as if he was gasping for air, "I was just a pawn in Jion's game to get his 'prosperity'."

Razal turned his head the other way. In a way she felt sorry for him. All his life he had been living up to the moment when all the fonstones would be together, only to find that the ending was flawed. It must have made him feel like a fool.

"The more I thought about you reading the seventh stone… the more I seemed to be convinced," he continued quietly, "I thought if you could at least get away, even if I died, then that would be enough."

Her brows furrowed at the expression on he was making in that moment. He looked like he was in pain.

"Though it seems as though you already have a lover."

With those words, her heart seemed to skip a beat. Yes she had a lover, one that she missed dearly.

"I do have a lover, and he's not the one Jion thinks is in the his way," she told him, her hands grasping at her pants, "That idiot isn't capable of being like that man."

"… That man?" Razal questioned with some confusion.

"That red haired bastard."

With a scowl, she turned her head away. She didn't want to think about it, not right now. At a time like this she didn't have time to worry about the past and the things in it.

"But to answer your question," Scion started, staring at the dirt at the edge of his body, "Even if you had fooled me before, I couldn't leave you there to die after you had helped me escape."

'_No one else needs to die for my sake…' _

"No more talking," she ordered him as she got to her feet, "Get some rest."

"Yes ma'am," he laughed, closing his eyes.

With the now silence filled night, the two of them could get at least a bit of rest. She knew they would both need it.

* * *

Din threw over a chair as he turned to walk out of the room. Syft had told them that now that the Sky Generals had all the fonstones, there was no helping Scion… That everything would be lost. The very words made his insides tighten and for the first time in a long time, he had become very angry. There was no helping Scion? How was he supposed to just give up and let her die like it didn't matter? Why was that even being asked of him?

His jaw tightened when he could hear footsteps following after him.

'_Probably Asch coming to tell me to leave it alone…' _he thought bitterly to himself.

He didn't understand why he was the one that never got what wanted.

"Din stop!" he heard Sin call after him.

He didn't stop, not until two hands grabbed one of his own. Looking back with furrowed brows, his blue orbs caught the panic that was on Sin's face.

"We have to help her!" the smaller girl pleaded, pulling on his arm, "She can't die there…"

Lifting up his gaze, he could see Asch standing there with crossed arms.

"She's right," the red haired General agreed, "After everything, she is the last one that deserves to die in such a place."

Din stood frozen for a moment, taking in everything that he was hearing. What did Asch mean she was the last one? Scion would be no different than any of themselves that stood there now…

"You need to tell him Sin," Asch stated emotionlessly, "He deserves to know."

Those words pulled him out of thought, causing him to look at the orange eyes that looked up at him.

"Scion's pregnant…" she said lowly, "That's why we have to get her out of there."

His heart felt like it had stopped in his chest. Everything went silent as he processed those words.

'_Scion's…' _

"Gather some guards to search the area," Asch told them, dropping his arms to his sides, "We'll leave as soon as we're ready."

* * *

He breathed slowly as he could feel the slow walking underneath him. He hadn't been of much use to do anything. In the middle of the night they had been attacked by a hungry ligarre drawn to the scent of blood. It was due to the attack that Scion had been bitten in her right shoulder and she was now struggling to keep moving. He had tried to convince her to leave him and flee for herself, but every time he did so she would tell him to shut up.

He felt the girl pause for a moment, feeling the heavy pants that escaped her.

"Scion…"

"I told you to shut up," she hissed tiredly, starting to take another step.

Razal let out a sigh, feeling the girl starting to shake. Her body was under a lot of pressure.

"You need to rest," he told her bluntly.

"I said shut up!" the girl growled at him.

'_She's not going to listen no matter what I tell her…'_

His brows furrowed as he felt her body tense up tightly. Something was wrong…

It was in that moment that the girl fell to the ground. As both of them landed, Razal winced as he pushed himself to his knees. Rolling her onto her back, Scion's hands were on her abdomen.

"What's wrong?" he demanded, moving her shirt to check for a wound.

There was nothing there, not even a scratch.

"It feels like… something's trying to rip me apart…" she gasped in pain.

His brows pushed together at what he was seeing. He wasn't sure on what to do; what he could do. Pushing himself to his feet, he bent down and tried to lift the girl off the ground. He heard her gasp in pain at his actions and he let out his own wince. If she could keep going even in the state she was in, then so could he.

As he pushed his feet forward, his heart rate jumped as a light haired ligarre walked its way out from the cover of the trees. His jaw tightened as he reached for the hilt of his blade, only to have a hand stop him.

"Scion what are you doing?" he mahogany haired man questioned.

The ligarre came closer, slowly taking its steps forward. The look in the animal's eyes caused him to raise a brow. It didn't look as vicious as the last one had. It almost seemed as if the creature had wanted to help the two of them.

"Kotone?" the girl questioned tiredly, lifting her head from its resting position.

With those words the ligarre came closer and nudged Scion's arm with the tip of its nose.

"Good boy," she said gently, patting the monster's head, "It's okay Razal, he'll take us home."

The girl had a gentle smile on her lips as she continued to pet the large animal. It had been the first time she had said his name without some form of anger or hatred behind it. The thought that she could do such a thing made him inwardly smile. She didn't have to hate him...

"Here," he said calmly, pulling her forward.

Using his hand he helped her mount the ligarre before she pulled him up as well. Sitting behind her, he placed his hands on her hips and rested his head on her shoulder. Standing on his own and holding up the girl's weight had been painful. His ears had started to ring as he had felt light headed.

"Let's go home."

* * *

The black haired girl let out a yawn as they set off outside the city. It was now early morning and the sun was on the horizon. On a normal occasion the girl would have moaned and complained about having to get up at such an hour.

"Keep your eyes open for anything," the red haired man ordered as he led the way on their horse.

There was a small group of city soldiers following behind them; all of them listening to what was being told to them. With their help Sin was sure that they would be able to achieve their goal at least a little faster than with just Asch, Din, and herself.

'_Even so… there's no guarantee that she'll still be alive by the time we make it to her…' _she thought solemnly, a painful ache grasping onto her heart.

No. She had to think positively. To even consider her friend's death before they arrived would only build up unnecessary stress on herself. At least that was what she thought until she felt Asch pull their horse to a stop.

"Asch?" she wondered with some confusion, looking around the red haired General.

It was in that moment that her heart seemed to freeze as her eyes could see the familiar light furred creature running swiftly toward them. Her demonic orange orbs widened as her mind realized that there was someone riding on his back. Not only one… but two…

'_It can't be…' _Sin thought as she was hit with a small taste of rage.

Her attention shifted though when Din immediately jumped off his horse and went to Kotone as he was only a few feet away. The ligarre let out a small whine as he came to a stop and stood before all of them.

"Scion!" the blond called with concern as he placed a hand on her arm.

Hearing her name wasn't enough to make it real. Jumping off her mount as well she went to her long missed friend. Her heart sank though when she caught sight of the girl's lime green orbs. They were dull; almost lifeless as they looked at Din.

"Scion are you okay?" he asked her urgently, reaching up to touch her face.

"I'll make it," the silver haired girl nearly murmured, her tone strained, "We have to hurry. Razal's dying…"

Sin was taken aback with those words. The mahogany haired man was their enemy and Scion of all people wanted to save his life? The thought made her hands clench tightly.

"Leave him," Din said in frustration, "I have no reason to save my _enemy_."

Even in the state Scion was in, Sin could see the anger that went through her with those words.

"Your enemy is my _ally_," she hissed back at him, "I will not let him die here."

"Scion he's the reason you didn't escape with us!" Sin protested in her own frustration, pointing at the unconscious man resting on her back.

She hated that man. There was just so many things about him that made her uneasy…

"If it wasn't for him then you wouldn't be like that now!"

"Sin," the silver haired girl told her gently, "If it wasn't for him, then I'd be dead."

Her jaw tightened upon hearing those words. That bastard could do something to save Scion when she couldn't? How… how was such a thing even possible?

A hand was gently placed on her head, causing her to look up at its owner. Asch's expression was serious as he held his hand down to her.

"Now is not the time."

Casting a glance to her wounded friend, she nodded and took his hand. Standing in the middle of a field arguing about why a man should die was a pointless argument. Even if one person believed they should die, there was no guarantee that everyone would feel the same. She remembered when she thought that no one had a real reason to be sent to death. Now that was different. It was so much different.

_**End of Chapter 6**_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hello again everyone. I do apologize for the delay on this chapter, it took me a little longer with work and school and everything that's going on in that department. Not to mention I had a small case of writer's block. No more delays! Here's your long awaited chapter. _

_Please Enjoy_

_**Chapter 7**_

At first there was nothing, just a seemingly calm feeling that hovered in the room. Then there were voices that were murmuring to one another. It was only in the moment that everything came flooding in. Her body ached in pain as she tried to move. She could feel the burning in her shoulder where the ligarre had bitten her. Why? Why did there have to be pain after such a peaceful sleep?

Her brows pushed together at the feeling of her aching body; a groan escaping her when she tried to move. Opening her lime green orbs, Scion blinked in confusion at the familiar room. She had once spent many nights in it; the room having been beside Din's. With the thought of the blond the girl's heart sank. Neither of them got the greeting that they thought they would. Instead they passed cold gazes and words.

"Scion!" Sin's voice called excitedly as her green orbs landed on the girl.

In that moment she was attacked by the smaller girl; being locked into a tight embrace.

"I appreciate the hug Sin… but please let go," Scion gasped at the ache that was sent through her.

The black haired girl immediately released her with the realization, backing up.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly.

Shaking her head, Scion smiled until her eyes fell onto the red haired General.

"It's good to have you back Scion," Asch stated, nodding his head before holding his hand out to Sin, "Let's give the two of them some space."

To the side Din was sitting in a chair with his arms crossed. His expression wasn't one of a happy man to have his lover back home. It was cold… and almost lost.

"Bye Scion," Sin said with a smile, "We'll be back later."

She watched as Asch closed the door and the once calm feeling was now missing. It was not buried under a heavy atmosphere.

'_Why? Why is it like this?' _the silver haired girl asked herself, her eyes unmoving on Din.

He hadn't moved – not even a twitch – since the door had been closed. She knew it was a poor welcome home, but did it deserve such an atmosphere?

"Din-"

"Why did you bring him with you?" he cut her off in frustration, "Look at the state you're in and you couldn't just leave him for ligarre food?"

Her jaw tightened at his words. This had never been a side of him that she had seen. Not once had she seen him so upset. It was frustrating.

"You wouldn't understand."

Din got to his feet and came forward; placing his hands on either side of her head.

"Then explain it to me so I _would _understand," he demanded, his blue orbs raging, "You can't tell me that coming home like this was worth it for his sake."

How could he understand what it was like to have people dying in place of someone else? How could he even imagine what it was like for the one being protected to have them die in front of their eyes?

"He helped me escape Din. He's the reason I could even get far enough away to run," she explained, her brows pushing together in frustration, "The reason he's dying is because he took that sword in my place."

If it hadn't been for Razal, then she wouldn't have made it home in the first place. She knew that more than anything.

"Was I supposed to leave him there to die after that?" Scion asked; eyes unmoving.

"Damn your pride Scion," Din hissed, grasping at the bed sheets.

Closing his eyes, the blond shook his head before taking a hand and pulling the sheets away. He pulled at the wrapping around her wound before his eyes fell onto something.

"If he was so helpful then why is Death's mark on your chest?" he asked lowly; his tone threatening.

"I had to," Scion murmured, closing her own eyes, "I didn't know what else to do. I would have done anything in that moment… so long as I could come home."

Her heart tightened at the memory. If it meant coming home and seeing his face… then she would have done it without a second thought.

* * *

He was frustrated by the situation. How could he not be? Scion was his lover – the person he cared about the most - and she was defending another man. It wasn't just another man… it was a man that had nearly cost her everything. It was infuriating to see with his own eyes.

"So you cast that forsaken arte?" he asked her, feeling his heart clench, "You bound your life to someone else's?"

If that person died… then that meant that she would too.

"It was Jion, their leader," she stated quietly, shaking her head, "If anything happen then I can stop him no matter what. I would rather die than watch anyone else die before me."

"Sometimes you don't have a choice Scion," the blond murmured, "Sometimes everything will slip through your fingers and you lose it. You can't stop fate."

"Fate is a load of bullshit," she growled, "It doesn't control anything that happens. We ourselves do."

Din rested his forehead against hers. He was trying to put himself in her shoes; trying to place himself in the same situation. This wasn't how he wanted to be when she came home. He wanted to greet her with a smile on his face. It didn't seem that he could smile at her though. Not after knowing everything that happened.

His heart ached with that thought. He knew that she didn't know… that it had happened while she had been unconscious. He couldn't take it though; couldn't bear the pain that burned within him.

"Scion… did you know that you were pregnant?" Din questioned cautiously; his tone low.

It was silent for a few moments before Scion nodded her head slowly.

"Before I got away… one of them has said it and I didn't believe them," she murmured, "The longer we traveled, the more I considered the possibility. It would have explained why I was sick for so long."

Din's brows pushed together at her words. So she had heard the words before she had cast Death's Breach…

"The baby's gone Scion."

By saying the words it was almost a realization. His heart tightened as he tried to force the feeling away. It was a form of anguish he couldn't understand.

"You miscarried…"

Pushing off the bed, he turned away from her. Hearing the news that they would be having a baby from Sin had made him so happy. He couldn't wait to have her back home so they could celebrate together. Knowing that fighting and the stress of being captured was the cause of the miscarriage, he couldn't stand it. Both of them could have done more… He knew he could have done more for her than he had. The Generals got their hands on all of the stones because he had failed. They lost their baby because she couldn't escape faster on her own…

"I'm sorry Scion," he apologized, walking toward the door, "I need some time."

With his back turned to her, he left her lying on the bed alone; closing the door behind him.

* * *

The crowds of people walked by them without a word; not taking much notice of them. That fact brought a smirk to Jion's face. They had travelled a day and night's worth of travel to arrive at the city of water and had convinced the guards that they meant no harm. He had brought Aeros with him, believing that he would be able to find the Eyes of the Demon easily. At the same time he hoped to remove two birds with one stone.

"What is your plan from here Jion?" the boy questioned emotionlessly, "You will not be able to destroy the Presence of Moonlight."

"I am well aware of that fact," he stated, his jaw tightening.

He could feel the mark burning on the edges on his collarbone; making his heart burn. He had been bound to that woman by death. If he killed her, then his fate would be sealed as well. The thought made him grit his teeth. That was how he would meet his fate?

The man paused as his orbs looked up at the palace at the center of the city.

"We'll find the Eyes of the Demon and bring her back with us."

"How do you plan to get here away from all her friends?" Aeros prodded tonelessly, "Or do we wait for her to come into the street?"

"Do not question me now Aeros," Jion nearly hissed, "Things will come together soon enough."

He had brought them here on a half-baked plan. It was true that he hadn't really thought the whole thing through all the way until the end. At the moment he didn't have time or the previsions to make an entire plan. At that moment his time was numbered and her knew that very well.

* * *

The world didn't seem to move anymore. Her heart… everything… nothing was alive in the moment that she sat there alone. She had… miscarried? Her ties to Din were no longer there. They felt severed… like everything had been cut to pieces. It wasn't the thought of having lost an unborn child that made her feel this way. There was nothing to lose to something she wasn't attached to. IT was the expression on Din's face that made her feel lost; like he never wanted to see her again.

Her fingers gripped tightly to the sheets of the bed with that thought. It hardly existed, this unborn child. It couldn't have been there for very long; not long enough to be attached to. So why? Why did he have to turn away from her with such anguished eyes? Why did he hate her for it?

'_No… he's just wounded…' _she tried to convince herself, shaking her head.

Scion could feel it inside her, the ache that was left from a leaving partner. She knew that everything wasn't alright between them now. How could they be?

She had defended a man no one else had trusted, fought with the one she loved, and lost something the two of them could have together. If she put herself in Di's shoes, she was sure that she would hate herself too.

"What a shitty welcome home," she murmured, turning her orbs to the window.

Beyond the far edges of Blue Abarath was the ocean; the sunset shinning off it. The colours mixed together on the water which brought a small smile to her lips. It was something she could always find comfort in; watching the scenery around her.

When her brothers were killed in the war she remembered that she would spend a lot of time watching the things around her. Listening to the wind and watching the leaves on the trees move always gave her a sense of calm.

'_It's good to know that at least some things don't change.'_

As calm as the feeling was, the silver haired girl knew that it was false. It never lasted more than a few moments. She knew that it would be replaced by a heavy feeling; a warning. Nothing was over yet and by the weight of everything, Scion knew that what was to come would b devastating.

* * *

He heard the smaller girl beside him sigh as they sat and watched the fire together. She had been quiet most of the day, having not said much since she had seen her friend awaken. He hadn't questioned her actions at first, but it was beginning to wear on him. Something was weighing on her mind.

"Asch?" Sin started quietly.

"Hmm?"

"If I knew something was going to happen… and I didn't say anything, does that make me a bad person?" she wondered; her voice almost a murmur.

The question almost made him chuckle.

'_Such a childish question,' _he thought to himself with an inward smile.

"That depends on the information," the former God-General stated calmly.

"I see," she murmured, her orange orbs reflecting the colours of the flames.

Again silence fell over them except for the crackles of the sparks in the fire. Whatever was on her min was bothering her more than it should have.

"Do you know something about our enemy?" he asked; his tone steady and even.

The red haired man saw her shake her head from the corner of his eye.

"Then tell me what's bothering you."

Moments passes before Sin turned her head away from him. The action almost caused him to sigh as well. What was the point of loving someone if they couldn't confide in others?

"I read it on the fonestone," the smaller girl started.

"Read what?"

"That Scion was pregnant… and that she would miscarry."

Her words made him shake his head slowly. She hadn't known how Din and Scion would react to the news. No one would know how to tell a couple that their unborn child would die before it was due. Wrapping his arm around the girl, he pulled her close to his being.

"That isn't something you should blame yourself for," he assured her, running his fingers through her dark locks, "It was something they needed to find out on their own."

"I just feel like I should have said something…"

"Knowing the future is a dangerous game. There are times when someone has to keep their mouth closed in order to keep peace," Ash explained, leaning his head back, "That's just how things work. "

He had handled enough with the Score to understand what it was like. Why anyone would want to know what was around the corner was beyond him.

Sin leaned into him and her hand grasped at his clothes. The feeling brought him comfort, to know that she could be this close again. He would make sure that she wouldn't leave his side like she had again. She wasn't something he could afford to lose; something that kept his rationality intact. He believed if it would keep her safe, then he was in the right. Pulling her closer, he rested his head against hers and closed his eyes. He wouldn't think of such things, not in this moment. Being with her now was all that mattered.

* * *

Scion wandered through the long hallways of the palace, looking into each room as she passed. She couldn't stand sitting or lying in that bed anymore. She needed to move; needed to get her mind off of everything that had happened. Sitting there brooding about something never did anyone any good.

Opening another door, she paused as her green orbs landed on the person lying in the bed. His chest was slowly moving up and down, the sight giving her a sigh of relief. It was true that Razal had been her enemy and she didn't quite enjoy his company. Even with that truth she couldn't condemn him after helping her escape that hellish place. He would be her ally when no one else could.

"I was wondering if you would come," the mahogany haired man said lowly; a tone of humor in his voice.

No one had told her if he was alright or not… if he had made it through the night.

"How are you feeling?" she wondered, raising a brow as she came into the room.

He let out a small laugh while shaking his head, "Like I got a sword through my chest."

Scion stood beside his bed, inspecting how he looked. Her lime green orbs traced over his upper torso, seeing the lightly blood stained bandages.

"At least the bleeding stopped," she said as she looked up to his face.

His deep green orbs locked with hers and her brows pushed together. She didn't understand the expression he was giving her.

"You look unwell," Razal stated, his own brows narrowing.

Her orbs widened at being caught off guard. Could everyone tell what was burning at her heart?

"It's nothing," the silver haired girl lied, turning to walk away, "I just wanted to know if you still lived."

A hand took a tight hold of her wrist and stopped her in her steps. Her jaw tightened at his actions; her body not wanting to go any farther than it already had.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that?" the mahogany haired man wondered, shakily pulling her toward him.

She couldn't pull away from him, knowing that it would only hurt him physically. Complying, she came back to stand beside the bed.

"You looked better when you were throwing up," he mused, shaking his head.

A small scowl formed on her face. She knew what he meant. Her face was expressionless, almost as if someone had been removed from her life. The empty feeling… it was written all over her face.

"I don't want to say anything," she told him plainly, turning her gaze to the side.

What was there to even say at a time like this?

Razal's hand took hold of her sleeve and pulled her down to him before it rested against the side of her face.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure you're strong enough to make it through it," he told her.

Hearing those words, she felt her heart ache. Would everything be alright in the end? Or was everything her and Din had over?

"I don't understand how you could have faith in me," she murmured, turning away from his hand.

"Isn't that what an ally does?" he wondered, "Have faith in the person they are allied with?"

Closing her eyes, Scion found that she couldn't answer. She didn't know what the right thing to feel was anymore.

* * *

Jion caught Aeros pause in the middle of the crowd of people. Turning back to look at the boy, his brows furrowed to see him staring in one spot.

"What's the matter boy?"

"I can feel the Eyes of the Demon close by," Aeros stated as he remained frozen in place.

Hearing the news brought a smirk to the man's face. They had been wandering the city of water for hours searching for the black haired girl.

"It's about time we found something worthwhile," Jion stated, his smirk still in place, "Do you know if she's alone?"

"I had sensed her with another aura previously, but for now she seems to be on her own. "

"Find her," he ordered, "It's time we left this place."

Jion knew he could convince the girl to read the seventh fonestone. If she cared enough for her friends' lives then he could get her to do it. While himself and Aeros were within the city, Soran was looking through old texts about the stones. If they could lengthen Jion's time with Death's Breach cast on him then he could reach prosperity. All they needed at the moment was to get their hands on the Eyes of the Demon.

* * *

The blond buried his head under the pillow of his bed. He had returned to the old house where both himself and Scion lived. The place was full of memories that grasped at his aching heart. It was a feeling that he didn't fully understand. He was upset with the loss of the baby… but at the same time he was disappointed in himself. Guilt, that's what this feeling was. It burned like nothing ever had.

Din knew that he could have done more to save Scion; knew that she could have made it in time. For her to come back and to say that their enemy saved her only infuriated him. For all they knew it could have been a plan from the very beginning.

"Damn it," he hissed, gripping the pillow tightly.

Why wouldn't things have worked out the way they wanted them to? The war needed to end and things could go back to the way they had been. Maybe then he would feel better about the situation they were in.

A knock on the door grabbed his attention, making him throw the pillow across the room. Dealing with people wasn't something that he was really in the mood for at the moment. Reluctantly getting out of bed, he opened the door.

"Sin?" the blond asked with some confusion.

It was odd to see the girl wandering around Blue Abarath on her own. She was usually with Asch or wandering around with Scion.

'_I guess that explains why she's wearing a cloak like that.' _

"I came to see how you were feeling," she told him, a smile on her face, "I thought you would be with Scion."

He turned his gaze away with her words. Spending time with Scion… it wasn't something he could make himself do with this feeling inside of him.

He closed the door as he took a step outside to stand with her. The fresh air felt good against his skin.

"To be honest I figured that's where you would be," Din said quietly, looking around the nearly empty street.

"I went to see her, but she wasn't there," the girl stated with a small pout, "She's supposed to be resting."

"Resting isn't really in her vocabulary."

"No," Sin laughed, "I suppose it's not."

Footsteps caught Din's attention, causing him to pull Sin to be behind him in defence.

Drawing his sword, he turned to parry another blade. His jaw tightened as he pushed the opponent away.

"You defended," the man stated with a dark smile, "I would have been disappointed if you hadn't."

His blue orbs narrowed as they inspected the man. There was no doubt that this was Jion. He could see Death's mark on his collarbone.

"I don't plan to impression you," the blond hissed, launching forward to attack.

Their blades pushed together at full force; the sound of steel filling the area. Din parried before going to strike the man's side, only to have him quickly block the attack.

There was no doubt that the man was skilled with the use of his sword. Jion was well trained.

"That's a nice sword," Jion mused as Din pushed against his force, "Did your woman buy that for you?"

Din's heart skipped a beat at what he was hearing. Talking about Scion like he knew her… it bothered him greatly.

"How about you stop admiring the detail and pay attention to it running through you!" the blond growled hatefully, thrusting his sword forward.

Jion turned to the side to dodge before bringing his sword down toward Din. Rolling to the side he escaped the attack before something dug deep into his lower back.

"Din!" he heard Sin scream as Jion took a tight hold of his hair.

He could see her run at Jion only to have him throw her to the side with his free hand.

"Take care of her Aeros," the man ordered the person standing behind Din, "I want to enjoy this moment as much as possible."

Din winced, having a dagger stabbing his lower back.

'_No… this can't happen…'_

"You're been a thorn in my side for long enough," Jion hissed as his grip tightened, "Now you'll be out of the way and we can have out prosperity."

'_No…'_

A sharp pain thrust through his stomach, causing him to cry out in agony. The feeling burned as it spread through him before cold started to creep through the wound.

"Goodbye, unknown force," the man mused into his ear before letting him fall to the ground, "Let's go Aeros. We got what we came for."

His mind almost seemed to go blank as he lay motionless on the ground. He couldn't even move his fingers; breathing was an impossible task. He opened his mouth and felt the blood come from it go to the ground. There wasn't anything he could do as he felt the cold creeping though him. That was it… just a frozen emptiness filled him. Tears rolled down his cheeks, wanting to call her name; to tell her that he loved her with all his might. Tell her that more than anything he was sorry. But there was no answer and no sound. It was silent before there was nothing.

* * *

She walked down the street silently, thinking to herself as she went toward the house. She wanted to set things straight and make everything right again. To at least talk to his face would have been enough. Voices grabbed her attention as she got close to the house. People were gathering and murmuring amongst one another. Her brows pushed together before pushing thought the people.

Her heart stopped beating as she saw what all of them were looking at. Immediately tars welled up in her eyes as she ran to Din's motionless body lying on the ground.

"Din!" Scion called him, pulling him into her lap.

Shaking him she tried to make him at least move. It was almost as if she did it then he would magically come to life and wrap his arms around her with his wide grin.

"Din you idiot," she cried to herself, feeling her heart clench tightly, "You could have at least waited to hear what I had to say."

Her fingers clenched tightly to his shoulders. This was how it would end for them… there was no happy ending… This was their goodbye.

_**End of Chapter**_


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, I've had a really bad case of writer's block, but it's all out of the way now! _

_Enjoy!_

_**Chapter 8**_

"_Scion… Scion… I'm sorry…"_

Her fingers grasped tightly to the clothes on his torso.

"_I didn't mean for things to turn out this way…"_

Thing seemed to be frozen and silent. Nothing else was grabbing her attention in that moment.

"_I love you Scion…. I'm sorry…" _

Lime green orbs widened as she could hear the world again. She could hear the murmurs of the people standing around her.

"Wasn't there another girl with that man?" a woman asked someone else; her tone low.

"Did those other two take her with them?"

"Was this all planned?"

The moment Scion turned her head to the first woman that she had heard, everyone became quiet. Getting to her feet, she grabbed the woman by the collar of her shirt and pulled her closer. Her brows were furrowed as she looked coldly down at the woman.

"What happened here?" the silver haired girl demanded; her voice hard.

The woman let out a small cry as Scion jerked her hand. The girl knew that her hands and clothes were covered in her lover's blood. She knew how she must have looked to these people. She didn't care, not now that she knew that Sin had been here as well.

"Tell me what happened," she demanded again.

"A-a young girl and that man were talking," the older woman explained; stuttering, "T-then they were attacked by a man with long tan hair and a boy with blue hair."

Scion's jaw tightened at what she was hearing.

"That bastard," she hissed, releasing the woman.

Turning around, her lime green orbs landed on the fiery red haired General that had made his way through the crowd. Beside him stood both Syft and Dailiin; Dailiin looking almost horrified as she looked at Din's unmoving body.

"Everyone leave," Syft ordered loudly, "There is nothing more for you to see here. I'm sure as a guardian of our city he wouldn't like being gawked at."

Her eyes were unmoving as the people around her dispersed. Asch's green orbs didn't move from hers; his gaze serious. She didn't move as Syft spoke to the three of them.

"I didn't expect that they would come right into the city," the green haired emperor stated tonelessly.

"You didn't _expect_ they would?" Scion growled, anger filling her with his words, "Isn't that the whole point of being in a war; to be one step ahead of your enemy?"

Her fists tightened as she turned her gaze to Syft.

"How was I to know they would gain passage thought the gate to the city?" he rounded with furrowed brows.

"Those idiots would let ligarres run through the city if they smiled at them," the silver haired girl hissed.

"I'm aware that you're upset-"

"I'm upset?" Scion asked, venom lacing every word, "Din is dead and the enemy has Sin because you couldn't put a few more soldiers at a gate. Upset isn't the word for it."

"They have Sin?" Dailiin questioned with worry.

"She went to see how Din was doing," Asch stated, his tone sounding controlled, "She probably got there before all of this happened."

Scion's lime green orbs narrowed as they looked back at Asch with his words. She could tell that he was trying to hide the things he was feeling in that moment. The girl knew that the man probably just as she did at what had happened. They both had just gotten everything they wanted back… and not they were both standing there with nothing. For the first time Scion could see Asch as if they were on the same level.

"If they have her then that means they have the ability to read the seventh fonstone," Syft stated with almost a sigh, "When do we start getting some good news?"

"When you start doing a better job of defending your city," Scion hissed almost hatefully, turning away from everyone.

"Where do you think you're going?" the young emperor demanded.

"To do something about your mess," the girl continued, not looking back.

Being sick… being weak hearted… she was sick of all of it. There would be no more being captured or followed by the enemy. If there was one thing Scion knew in that moment, it was that she was going to run her blade through Jion's beating heart.

* * *

Asch's fists clenched tightly as he watched the silver haired girl walk away. She had always been quick to lay the guilt onto another person like she had done to him. This time… he could feel as if her words were true. While in a war why would you not place more security within your city walls? It was common sense.

"Has that girl got no rationality?" Syft seethed from beside him.

Asch knelt down to roll Din's motionless body so he was on his back. The man's last expression had been an anguished one. He could tell the blond had been crying in his last moments. It had been a cruel death…

"I don't believe she does," the red haired General said quietly, "I can't say that I blame her for her actions either."

He knew was it was like to have everything slip through your fingers. That had been his entire life until he had met Sin. Even with her she sometimes felt too far away. Everything in Scion's life had been that way.

Closing Din's empty blue orbs, Asch stood back to his full height. He had lost one of his closest friends.

"Raise the amount of soldiers in the streets to protect the people," he ordered as his green orbs followed Scion's left behind steps, "If you don't then your rule will suffer and more people will die."

"What do you plan to do Asch?" Dailiin questioned with some concern.

"I'm going to follow an irrational woman into battle."

There was no time left to plan. He needed Scion and her hatred to help him find Sin. Together they would stand a chance. If they went alone then even he would be outnumbered.

* * *

She felt her body jerk as an ache filled the back of her skull. Her brows pushed together at the feeling. It wasn't a pleasant one. It took her a couple moments to realize why she had felt that way and where she was. She felt the uselessness and despair of picturing her blond friend dying before her eyes. She had been tossed aside so easily… Was she truly that weak?

"How much longer?" a toneless voice questioned from not too far away.

"Soon enough," Jion's voice stated afterward.

His tone sounded too pleased as far as she was concerned. They very thought of him being pleased made her jaw tighten hatefully.

Sin knew she had been thrown in a cage and they were probably taking her to read the fonstones.

"Damn it," she hissed, opening her demonic orbs.

What would she be able to do in this situation? How could she even live up to Din's sacrifice in a moment like this? She felt almost useless sitting in this cage. Even with her hatred toward these Sky Generals she didn't feel like she could do very much.

'_No…' _she thought to herself bitterly, _'I can't just sit here and wait for them to take me to the stones.'_

She wasn't going to die… not now after she had been reunited with Asch. Her friends had fought to keep themselves together. They had fought against what was there even if it wasn't their real enemy. She wasn't going to let them take everything away from her.

Sitting up from her laying position, Sin's orange orbs looked at the layout of the cage. It was really no different than the one she had been trapped in before. Shifting her weight the girl managed to get to her feet. She ran at the side of the cage, throwing all of her weight against it. The action caused the old steel to rattle in protest. As she gathered her bearings, Sin did it again.

"I know you're eager to away little demon," Jion's voice caught her attention from behind her, "but these bars aren't going to break."

Sin glared hatefully in the man's direction; him safely behind the cage's bars.

"If I get out of here then I'll kill you," she growled; her tone filled with venom.

Jion seemed to laugh at her threat, making her jaw tighten.

"If you're getting this upset about that blonde's death," he mused, a dark smirk going across his lips, "Then I would love to see what fight would come out of you if I killed that other girl."

Sin's fists clenched tightly. She knew that he couldn't kill her if Scion wasn't anywhere close by. It was the threat in itself that made her angry.

"Or even that red haired General of yours."

In that moment she threw herself against the bars that Jion was standing beside.

"I see," Jion continued to muse; his tone sounding pleasant, "For you to fight your best I'll have to kill those two that remain standing. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"Don't worry," she hissed, "You'll have more than a fight to ease your dead soul."

Kicking the bars forcefully, Sin watched as the man laughed and climbed back on top of the cage. She was done sitting by and watching everyone around her. All this time she felt like she had been standing still and not doing much. If there was anything useful she could do now, she knew it would be her first path. Jion wouldn't get the chance to harm the people closest to her. She was sure she would get in the way.

* * *

His heart almost jumped when his room door had opened suddenly. He hadn't thought that anyone would come visit him today. When he saw Scion's face he wanted to smile and greet her. That feeling only lasted for a moment when his dark green orbs caught sight of her lime green ones. They were dull and almost lifeless. The sight was almost hard for him to wrap his mind around.

Her eyes widened for a moment, as if realizing something that had happened.

"… Razal?" she asked him with some confusion, "Why would I come here?"

"Does it really matter why?" he asked her as he raised a brow.

Shaking her head, Scion came to kneel beside his bed. Her expression seemed to empty and void… he wasn't sure how to act.

"I don't understand…" she started quietly, her eyes staring at the edge of his bed.

"What don't you understand?"

"Why am I not allowed to have anything?" the girl asked him, her tone cracking the slightest bit.

Pushing himself to a sitting position, Razal watched her with concern. Her expression made his chest ache more than he liked. She was crying…

"Why can't I just hold onto something?"

The mahogany haired man was cautious as he placed his hand on the top of her head. He didn't know what had happened for her to be in such a state, but he had to assume that it had to do with the blond haired man.

"What happened?" he questioned, his brows pushing together with concern.

He didn't think there was anything that could put the silver haired girl in this state.

"Din died," Scion nearly whimpered, her hands grasping tightly to the bed's covers, "Jion came and now Din's gone too…"

Shaking her head she looked up at him, her brows furrowed in her confusion.

"Why can't I just have one thing to keep my sanity?"

He had to hold back words that almost escaped him. He wanted to tell her that he would be there for her and that she could depend on him when she needed it. Now was not the time to be saying that he could take the blonde's place.

"You really don't have much left do you?" another voice cut in from the doorway.

Razal's heart clenched at the sound of the red haired General's voice. The feeling caused him to glare at the man.

"That's a new way to comfort someone," he hissed.

He felt Scion's head turn to look back at the red haired man, as if realizing he had appeared.

"It's simply the truth, isn't it Scion?" the man wondered as he walked into the room, "All you have left is Sin, just as I do."

"Is that all you came here to do?" Razal asked with agitation.

"No, I came here to take Scion with me."

"Take me where Asch?" she asked him, her eyes watching him intently.

"To take Sin back from Jion," Asch stated simply, crossing his arms, "As well as Jion's life for what he's done."

When killing Jion was mentioned, Razal could see a small spark of life come back to the girl's eyes. Revenge must have been something high on her list in that moment.

The mahogany haired man let out a small sigh before giving a wry smile. Seeing Jion die would satisfy him greatly.

'_That's funny… a while ago I wouldn't have even considered the man dead,'_ he thought to himself before shaking his head.

"If you're going to leave right now," Razal started, turning his green orbs to look into the red haired General's, "You might want to consider where they are going to be."

Both Scion and Asch raised a brow with those words. Did they really think that Jion would keep the stones in the same place after being found out?

"He's probably moved the stones to another camp," he continued, "One that's on an island not too far from here."

"…An island?" Scion questioned, sounding concerned.

"There are some ancient ruins that Jion thought would come in handy for a place to hide," Razal stated as he winced and turned his head to the window.

He had to admit that it was hard for him to sit in the same position. His wound was burning violently.

"Its name is Eldrant."

Razal caught the red haired General's eyes narrow at the mention of the ruins. Did he know of them? Was it possible that he had been to them before?

"Let's go Scion," the man ordered, turning to take his leave.

"Scion," Razal called as she got to her feet, "Come back in one piece."

As she turned away, he saw her shake her head slowly.

"I make no promises."

In that moment they both left the room together. With the thought of her going back out there and getting even more wounded, he slouched back into the bed.

'_I don't care if you won't promise… Just come back anyway.' _

* * *

Jion's smirk remained on his face the whole ride across the ocean. It hadn't taken them long to ride the waves across to the island where the ruins were hidden. The thought about being close to his prosperity were almost hard to bear. He could feel close it was the moment he stepped off the small ship. It was like a surge of energy was filling him from inside. He found it pleasing.

"Finally!" Soran's voice groaned as he came to greet them, "I was wondering when you would get here."

"All good things to those who wait Soran," Jion stated, turning back to look at the ship.

Aeros walked off with the Eyes of the Demon rolling out behind him; soldiers pushing the cage out. The sight of her hateful glare was pleasant to see. It was time that he got to see some real fight rise from within her.

"Was she hard to catch?" Soran questioned from behind him.

"Hardly, plus we removed the unknown force from out path," Jion explained, turning to continue walking inland.

To remove that wretched blond from his path brought him some ease. It was one less thorn in his side that he had to deal with.

"What about your venture Soran?" he wondered with a raised brow, "Did you find anything about removing this damned mark?"

"A lot of things I read didn't have much to say about the fonstones. Most of them just had a bunch of nonsense about people's fonons and how they work," the teal haired boy explained with a yawn, "I think I found something useful though. There was one text saying how the seventh fonstone had the ability to interfere with the fonons around it."

Jion's brows pushed together at what was being explained to him. He didn't quite understand what Soran was saying.

"What does that mean then?" Aeros wondered curiously from behind them.

"If you're near the stone then it negates any artes that are used there," Soran stated as he walked, "So that means that if someone cast an arte on Jion, Death's Breach would still affect the girl but not Jion."

Those words caused Jion to smirk darkly. He could attack the silver haired girl and take her out of the picture as well.

'_Or use this information to make the Eyes of the Demon cooperate…'_

"I don't suppose that a sword would have the same affect," the man thought aloud.

"Unfortunately no," Soran said with some disappointment, "If you were to be stabbed by a weapon then you as well as the girl would die."

"Do you know what happens after the stone is read?"

"Once the seventh stone is read, it will absorb the life from the replica and pour it through all seven stones. Together the energy will summon the eighth stone, as well as release enough fonons into the area to remove any other remaining fonons," Soran explained, a small grin on his face.

"…Meaning?" Jion wondered.

"It means that the energy from the stones will be enough to remove the lingering fonons that were left behind by the Presence of Moonlight," the boy continued, "Which will remove Death's mark from both yourself and the girl."

The man was once again smirking pleasantly. Things seemed to be planning out well into their favor. Once they convinced the Eyes of the Demon to obey and read the final stone then there would be fewer obstacles to stand in their way. Prosperity was within reach and the moment was drawing all the closer. The only things standing in his way were the lives of the silver haired girl and the red haired General.

* * *

Asch stood beside his horse as he waited outside the city gates. He was waiting for the silver haired girl as she said she would follow sooner after. He could see it in her expression that the moment they would kill Jion was what was keeping her going. In a way he almost felt guilty that he was using the girl's hatred and drive for his own personal gain. If they couldn't get Sin back… he was sure that he would be in no better condition than Scion herself. How had they managed having nothing in the past? After tasting happiness… he was sure it would be difficult to be able to again…

Standing straight, Asch turned his had to mess eyes with his approaching ally. Her face was expressionless as she looked back at him. Scion's lime green orbs were once again numb. Climbing onto his horse, he watched as she threw a few things into a saddle bag before doing the same.

"Do you know where you're going?" she asked him tonelessly.

"No need to worry," the former God General stated as he turned his horse, "I know exactly where we need to go."

How could it be possible for him to forget such a place? The ruins would be exactly the same as the ones in Auldrant. It was a place that had been engraved into his mind long ago… the place that had brought him to where he was standing now.

Asch pushed his horse into a gallop and rode toward the direction of the forest. If they cut through the trees and followed near the shoreline it would be possible for them to get there sooner. If anything, he wanted to be able to get there as soon as possible. He wouldn't let the very same ruins be Sin's resting place when they had very well almost been his own. It wouldn't come down to that… he wouldn't let it.

* * *

Sin sat in her cage as she waited with her enemy. Why they were taking their time with their plans she didn't understand. Wouldn't you want to complete a journey when you were to close to the end?

'_Or maybe they don't really have a plan from here?'_ she wondered, raising a brow.

It was possible that they had started making it up as they went along. Having a plan thwarted more than once by the same people would be frustrating. They must have been off planning and thinking about their next move in another part of the ruins while she was left with guards. The thought made her scowl to herself. Sitting with silent guards wouldn't give her any information.

When they had first arrived at the ruins Sin had to admit that she didn't think very much of them. As he orange orbs had scanned over the area there was nothing that grabbed her attention. Why make run down ruins a base to hold your plan? Her question was answered thought when she had been taken inside. For ruins the place was still well intact and its inner workings caught her eye. It was almost like the things she had seen in Asch's world. It was something entirely different from how things looked now.

These were the things that drew her into the atmosphere. The feeling of the ruins was nearly the same as from the fonstones; their fonons were nearly the same. The black haired girl knew that the more she looked the more she would be curious. The markings… the atmosphere… the fonstones… what did they all mean? Why were they all within the same place?

'_I guess I'll know the answer soon enough once they get me to read the seventh stone,' _she thought with a sigh, _'Sooner or late they're going to make up their minds and come here.'_

She knew she couldn't wait for her friends to come to her aid. She didn't have the time to waste waiting. The moment Jion came he would make her read the fonstones. She didn't know what put that confident smirk on his face, but he had something; something that would work in his favor. Between now and that moment, she needed to think of something to have in her own favor. It was her only hope to be able to counter against her enemy.

* * *

The full moon hung over the sky, illuminating everything it could. Its light would have made it perfect to travel through the night. He had stopped the horses though, knowing that they were getting close to the ruins. They would need a night's rest for what was approaching the next day. Sitting beside a fire, his green orbs watched the flames as he could hear Scion training not too far away. Her blade was scraping roughly against a tree's bark, making the crack of wood travel. Having seen the jagged blue dagger hanging at her waist caused his brows to narrow. The silver haired girl must have realized how much of a disadvantage she was with when that large sword was knocked from her hands. Artes alone wouldn't always be fast enough to save her from a skilled swordsman.

Asch knew what a battle of a large scale was like; it was something he had come face to face with many times. Having a disadvantage against a highly skilled enemy would surely mean the end. A second was all it took to lose everything.

'_I guess that's something Scion had learned earlier,'_ the red haired General thought to himself, the image of his lost friend coming to mind.

A hand went to his chest with that thought. If they didn't take the right moment to strike then they would all become lost. Tightly, he grasped at the fabric at his chest; the place where his most prominent scar was. Why would he remember the feeling of his death at that second?

"You having a heart attack?" Scion's voice broke through his thoughts, bringing him back to reality.

Dropping his hand he shook his head with narrowed brows.

"Just remembering something," he replied as he cast his gaze toward her.

"I assume it was painful," she stated tonelessly, her own lime green orbs watching him.

Scion's eyes were unmoving and her posture oddly stiff. It one saw her now they wouldn't think that she had just been fighting a tree. For almost being an empty shell, the girl was still sharp.

"Unfortunately," Asch admitted, "though afterward I was brought here, so I can't really complain."

With those words, the silver haired girl turned her gaze toward the flames of the small fire.

"It must have been nice," she nearly murmured, "Not having things of your past come back to haunt you."

"This world maybe be different from my own, but its landmarks and some people are the same," he started, looking into the fire as well, "Being forced to serve a woman that looks identical to one that claimed to love you in the past doesn't exactly bring fond memories."

"Lady Nadelay," Scion said aloud, "That woman must have been a stalker."

Shaking his head, the thought of Natalia being a stalker brought a small smile. It may as well have been true, her having been so needy.

"I won't fail tomorrow," the silver haired girl stated as her brows furrowed, "I won't make you regret leading me here."

"I wasn't planning on regretting anything."

They would reach the ruins and take down anyone that got between them and Sin. Their strength together would be enough, of that he was sure.

* * *

She stood there panting as blood dripped from her weapons. The moment the teal headed boy had opened her cage door she had asked for her weapons. It had only taken a moment for her request to be granted and she attacked. She lunged into the air and drove a blade deep into his chest. Within the next passing moment the other dug into his stomach, not giving him the chance to retaliate. Now she stood over his unmoving body, turning her gaze to the few guards that were standing in waiting.

They raised their weapons as she ran at them. Even alone Sin knew that she could take down a few of Jion's soldiers. Using her fonons she threw boulders of a fallen pillar into two of them, leaving on standing. He attacked first, swinging his spear down at her. Parrying, she pushed the weapon to the side before coming in close and repeatedly stabbing the man in the stomach. Panting, she could feel the adrenaline flowing through her body, making even her fingers tingle. She felt like she was strong again, like she had moved up the ladder ever so slightly. Soran, one of the last Sky Generals was lying dead because of her blade.

Turning her head, Sin started to search for the upward staircase. She would take the challenge of facing Jion on her own with the weak hope that she might be able to cause him some physical damage.

Running, she went up the staircase as quickly as her feet would take her. As she burst through a doorway and caught sight of Jion standing in the middle of a circle of the seven fonstones, she smirked. Now would be her chance to strike against her enemy.

"There you are, little demon," a guard hissed as he grabbed a fistful of her dark locks.

Putting a dagger to the girl's throat, he dragged her toward the seven stones. Her heart pounded violently in her chest at what was happening. Why? Why was this happening when she had gotten so close?

"As I expected, Soran failed to do this little task," Jion spoke out; his tone sounding disappointed, "It's good to see that your fight hasn't left you."

"You bastard!" Sin growled hatefully, "How dare you use people as your pawns like they mean nothing to you?"

The man merely let out a laugh as he leaned down to her, his smirk still sitting on his lips.

"Simple," he stated, "Because they_ do _mean nothing."

Sin started to thrash against the guard that was holding onto her, only to have the dagger pulled closer to her throat.

"Now be a good girl and read the seventh fonstone," he told her, standing back up to his full height, "I wish to get this over with."

"Read it yourself," Sin hissed; her jaw tight with anger.

Again the man let out another laugh as he took a few steps away.

"Listen, little demon, do you see this mark?" he asked her with a raised brow, "It's called Death's mark. Once marked your life is bound to the person that casted Death's Breach."

Her brows narrowed at what she was being told.

"The one who casted it was your silver haired friend. Whatever happens to me will automatically happen to her, but with these fonstones here, any arte casted will not affect me," Jion continued to explain with his dark amusement, "but it will still affect your precious friend. If you would like, I'll demonstrate for you."

A field of fonons appeared under him and her heart immediately caught in her throat. If it could still kill Scion then she couldn't take the risk. After everything Scion had done for her, she knew that she couldn't risk it.

"No!" she cried, struggling to break free, "Leave Scion alone!"

So much sacrifice had been given from her for Sin… she wouldn't let anything else be taken away.

"You bastard just stop!" Sin begged, "Please!"

Her heart raced as the field of fonons dispersed from the ground and he walked toward hers. His hand reached out and tilted her head for her to look up at him.

"Read the seventh stone and free your friend from this mark," he told her seriously, his steel eyes locked with her panicked ones, "The stones will break this bond I share with her, and you can spare her from a painful death."

Sin's brows pushed together as she nodded her head in agreement. If there was anything that she could do to repay her friend, it was to give her life back. This would bring everything to equal standards and it was all she could do in this moment. If she had let him attack she knew she would regret every second afterward. The guilt would eat her away if she didn't choose his option.

"That's a good little demon," Jion praised as he led her to the seventh stone, "Be a good friend and return the favor."

As her demonic orange eyes scanned over the text on the stone, she took a deep breath.

'_Asch… I'm sorry…'_

* * *

They fought through the first set of soldiers, running their blades through their armor. Each one fell lifeless before the next, only serving as a small distraction to their real goal. As they came out the last ones standing, Asch's orbs caught sight of the emotionless General that always stood with Jion.

"Do you plan to die along with them?" he questioned, gesturing to the lifeless soldiers behind them.

The boy merely shook his head as he watched the two of them.

"I have no reason to stop you from here," he stated tonelessly, "Jion has allowed my allies to perish without remorse, as he would do the same with me."

"Why come then?" Scion asked; her brows pushed together.

"I wish to ask that you take care of Razal," he answered, turning his gaze to her, "You were the first to show him kindness, and risk your life to spare his. He will make a strong ally to you."

Aeros gestured for the both of them to pass freely; Asch being the first to take step.

"I also wish to apologize for taking the life of your lover. I now see the unknown force stands before me, and he did not deserve death."

They passed him without another word, their footsteps turning into a run. There were no more soldiers to be found within the ruins. The place was nearly abandoned. As they drew closer to the right staircase, Asch caught the sight of four motionless bodies.

'_That must have been why Sin asked for her weapons…'_

A loud gasp of caught his attention before he turned to see Scion on her hands and knees, gasping for air.

"What happened?" he demanded, going to her.

"I-I don't know," she panted, shaking her head, "It's like I've been under water and I've just been able to catch my breath…"

She sat up and pulled at the collar of her shirt, only to find nothing there.

"It's gone…" Asch stated lowly with furrowed brows.

Death's Breach had been broken and the mark had been removed.

"I don't understand," Scion said with confusion, "It's not an arte that can easily be broken…"

Underneath them the ruins started to quake for a moment, causing rubble to fall from the ceiling. In that moment Scion was on her feet and running toward the staircase. He followed after her; hastily trying to reach the stop set of doors. Pushing through them, Scion was frozen still before he could catch a glance. As his green eyes stared forward, it almost felt like his heart had stopped beating.

_**End of chapter**_


	9. Chapter 9

_Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the delayed update. I've once again been busy with school and work and homework. I'm trying to get this written and finished so you can all enjoy the ending. Again I apologize for the delay. _

_Please enjoy!_

_**Chapter 9 **_

He didn't understand what was happening in that moment. As he stood there, he couldn't move. All the fonstones had disappeared and instead of an eighth one, Sin's body was frozen within a solid block crystal. Jion stood in the middle of the ruin, his head turned toward the sky.

"A calamity will befall the world before it will be reborn. It will be the unknown force that decides the fate of this world. So it will be the birth of Lorelei," the man said from his unmoving position.

At the mention of Lorelei, Asch came back to his senses. He could get Sin back after this bastard had suffered his fate.

Jion turned toward them his expression full of hatred at the worlds he had spoken. Asch could imagine that things hadn't turned out the way the man had wanted.

"The unknown force is dead!" the man nearly growled, "I killed him with my own blade! How could he possibly decide the fate of the world from death?"

"Did you ever consider that you killed the wrong person?" Scion's voice questioned hatefully, "That you've murdered enough innocent people?"

"How could it have possibly been the wrong person? The blond was always there and in the way!"

Asch caught the man's fist clench tightly as he took a few steps toward them. Both of them had their swords ready.

"No matter," Jion muttered, shaking his head, "I'll get rid of the both of you and then the eighth stone will appear."

"He's lost it more than I have," Scion murmured lowly.

"I agree," Asch stated with a small smirk.

His green eyes watched Jion intently, waiting for any sign of him attacking first. It was when Scion ran forward first that Jion held onto his sword seriously. He followed suit, moving in to take the first attack. Scion swung her sword to the side forcefully only for him to quickly dodge to the other side. Asch's brows furrowed when Jion raised his free hand and realized that he was giving a signal. Soldiers came pouring through the doorway as well as archers making them selves present. Scion stood at his back, facing Jion.

"You want to trade?" she questioned.

"I thought you were going to kill him."

"Fine by me," she murmured, going back to her enemy.

Asch stared at the men that now stood before him. The reason why the ruins had been so poorly guarded was because they were all in hiding – waiting to ambush. His brows narrowed before they came at him. Parrying a spear he turned to stab a man through the stomach before kicking him off the blade. He turned to take in his view of where he could fight only to find that he had been surrounded. His mouth becoming a hard line, he brought his blade to the side; it clashing forcefully against another. A sound caught his ear then, the sound of bow strings tightening. Pushing his attacker away, he was quick to move to the side. Four arrows then shot deep into the guard's chest, knocking him over.

The red haired General didn't pause to think about the archers. He already knew that he wouldn't be able to dodge them all forever. The only thing he could do in that moment was to keep his mind focused on killing the attackers on the ground.

* * *

She stumbled backward at the force of Jion's attack. Even blocking she found it difficult to parry some of his strikes.

'_Damn it…' _she hissed, her jaw tightening.

Scion knew she wouldn't let him win against her. At the feeling of hatred that burned within her, she knew he would not get away unscathed.

"What's the matter?" the man questioned with a smirk, "Finding it hard to continue on?"

"Hardly," she muttered, her grip tightening on the hilt of her sword.

She ran at him, swinging her blue blade at the man's side. He raised his sword to block, the force of her attack catching on the steel. There was enough force in the attack that her sword cut through the clothes covering his torso.

"I see that I've hit a nerve," Jion seemed to muse, "It's a shame that your lover couldn't be here to witness this."

Scion's jaw tightened with his words. She knew he was trying to make her lose focus on the real task.

"Don't worry," she assured him, blocking his sword, "You'll have him grinning down at you when you're in hell!"

The silver haired girl pushed him backward before lunging forward, only to have him dodge to the side quickly and counter. Swinging her sword upward, she forced his blade away. As she was about to make her strike she felt something cut through the side of her arm. It was in that moment that she then saw the archers taking their aim at Asch as he fought against the soldiers.

'_Those bastards…' _she thought bitterly, summoning a few of her fonons.

The archers released the strings on their bows, causing Scion to release her fonons quickly. A barrier formed above the red haired General, protecting him from the attack.

Her attention was brought back to her enemy as he came forward to attack in her lack of paying attention. Her heart skipped a beat as she was barely able to force away his blade before it came at her again. Jion brought his sword close to where she was holding onto the hilt; turning it skillfully to knock her blue sword from her hands. She took a step back as her green orbs watched it slide to the edge of the roof of the ruins.

"You should learn to keep your eye on your target," the man stated darkly, his steel eyes serious as he watched her.

"You're right," she admitted, her fists clenching as her brows pushed together.

The man took a few steps toward her, slowly making his way to her. It looked like he wanted to enjoy this moment as much as possible.

"…Fissure!"

The stone from underneath Jion's feet started to quake, about to burst through the surface. As his attention was adverted to the arte, Scion ran toward her sword. She swung her hand to block a barrage of arrows with her small barrier as she dove toward her sword. She winced as she slid across the ground on her still slightly wounded shoulder; the pressure making it burn.

As Scion got close enough to her sword to take hold of it, a gust of wind had blown against the blade. Her fingers and fell over the edge. For a moment her heart raced at what had happened. Her sword that had been her dominant weapon had just been thrown out of her reach. There was no way for her to be able to use it now.

"Very tricky, aren't you?" Jion questioned as he stood over her.

It was clear that the man had become furious at her actions. His expression no longer held the amusement that it had in previous encounters. He was out to finish this once and for all.

The silver haired girl brought her legs upward and threw her weight upward; kicking Jion in the chest. He stumbled backward, giving her enough room to get to her feet. Her hand went to the dagger hidden at her wait and she unsheathed it. She knew that this was all she had to work with now and she would make good use of it.

"You have no idea," she stated icily, quickly running at him with her blade facing outward.

Without the extra weight of her sword, Scion found that she could move and respond quicker. Her body could move more without the restricted weight. She was going to make good use of her new advantage.

* * *

Asch grunted as he kicked a soldier away from him and ran his sword through the man's shoulder. He was starting to get tired of aimlessly killing useless pawns in Jion's game. The archers had changed their target to Scion herself, trying to take out the one stopping them he assumed. He had to admit that he was grateful the girl had wanted to learn that arte in the first place.

Another soldier came at him from behind, causing him to use the hilt of his sword to knock the wind out of the man. With some frustration, he called his fonons and summoned a field of fonons beneath his feet.

"Icicle Rain!" he called, pushing energy into the attack.

He could feel the power flow through him and into the arte; all the soldiers that stood around him having fallen. There would be no more child's play to fight against. It was time for this to end entirely.

As Asch turned to face the archers, he let out a small sigh. All of them seemed to have disappeared, having run for their lives. His attention was then drawn to his ally that was assaulting their enemy with her blade. For someone that was used to wielding a heavy ended weapon, she was truly agile. Her dodges were swift as well as her retaliations against Jion's strikes. He watched as the girl knocked Jion's feet out from under him and pointed her blade down at him. From where he was standing he could see her panting and blood that was smeared across her cheek.

Scion's muscles tensed as she went to make the final strike, only to have the world shake violently beneath them. Suddenly the sky darkened from the light of the sun and a green light surrounded the small clouds. The sky rumbled violently; shaking everything beneath it. All of their attention was drawn to the abnormality as something started to fall to the earth. It was something that not even Asch had experienced in his life time.

"_So it will be the birth of Lorelei."_

Asch's brows furrowed as he remembered Jion's words. That had to of been what was read from the seventh fonstone. Was that what was falling from the sky; Lorelei?

"That doesn't look like a stone at all," he heard Jion state lowly.

It was true. Whatever was falling in the distance was even too small to be a fonstone.

"Where is the eighth fonstone?" the man demanded, sounding furious, "Where is my prosperity?"

Asch's green orbs watched as Scion bent down and took a tight hold of Jion's collar.

"Right here," she hissed hatefully, driving her dagger deep within the man's chest, "Now go suffer in hell."

Removing her blade, the silver haired girl turned her attention back to what was falling from the sky. Whatever it was… there was only one.

"What do you think it is?" her voice questioned tonelessly.

"No idea."

He then turned his attention to what he had been forcing himself to ignore the whole time he had been fighting.

How? How had it even happened? Sin was completely incased in solid crystal; one he was sure a sword wouldn't be able to break. Going to her frozen form, he placed his hand against it. What was he to do with her like this?

"It's all related," Scion stated as she turned back to look at him, "_That_ has to do with what's falling from the sky."

Asch knew that what she was saying was the truth. He agreed with the way she was thinking.

"She's not dead Asch," she continued as she walked past him, "At least I don't think she is…"

"Where are you going?"

Scion stopped, only turning her had to the side to look back at him.

"Take Sin home, Asch. This is where our paths separate," she told him emotionlessly, "I'll find that thing and bring it back."

His brows pushed together with her words. She could just leave without a second thought?

"And Asch," she continued, "Make sure Din gets to rest somewhere nice."

Those were her last words before she disappeared behind the staircase doors. Scion was gone.

"Damn it," he hissed, hitting the bottom of his fist off of Sin's crystal.

Alone… the feeling started to burn at his chest. Sin may not have been dead, but being frozen right in front of him – taunting him – she may as well have been in this state. Knowing she was entirely gone would have been better than the possibility that she _might_ not be dead. She would never be able to answer him. His jaw tightened before he once again punched the crystal. He wouldn't accept this answer.

* * *

As she walked through the empty ruins, she kept her lime green orbs directed at the floor she was walking on. They had won, and Jion was now dead. The fighting was done with… but what had they been fighting for? Was the victory really even worth anything? Sin was most likely gone. If she had read the fonstones then her life would have been stolen and the stones were gone.

By the way that Jion had reacted to the prophecy things obviously hadn't worked out the way he had been told.

'_All the texts must have been lying then,' _she concluded, opening the doors to the outside world, _'Like they were trying to encourage someone to want prosperity.'_

This wasn't fate at all. The stones were created for the purpose of 'renewing' the world. Whoever called someone's planning 'destiny' was truly mislead.

'_Someone wanted all of this to happen…'_

Her eyes narrowed when they saw the blue haired boy still sitting outside the ruins. For the first time, she could see the emotion on his face. He was smiling at her, but not in a pleasant way.

"Good job coming out the victor," he praised, pushing off the rock he was sitting on, "You've done well."

Scion stopped walking with his words. This was an entirely different being that approached her than before. With the smile still on his face, Aeros handed her the sword she had lost on the edge.

"Beware the bonds that you share," he told her as he paused in his steps, "They may break everything you have left."

Her heart caught in her chest with those words. They unnerved her… they shook her insides. Grasping the hilt of her sword tightly, she swung the blade at the boy, cutting his being in half. Her heart raced with her actions as she looked around her. The bonds she had shared no longer existed. Everything she had had already been shattered from reality. What was there left to break?

* * *

Days had passed, leaving him waiting impatiently. He couldn't take it anymore. Sitting still in the same bed would soon drive him crazy. Getting to his feet had been a small chore after not being on his feet for more than a week. The shaking in his muscles wasn't something he was used to. Being weak wasn't something that he had enjoyed.

As he walked through the long hallways, he could hear people moving around more so than usual. They were loud; calling for the emperor of the city. What had them in such frenzy? Where was the hurry? Walking closer his brows narrowed with some confusion. There stood the red haired General, his hardened green gaze staring toward a wall. Behind him – at the base of the palace stairs – was a crystalized version of the black haired girl.

City guards were running to the great stone and talking amongst themselves. Maids were murmuring to each other as if their words would break the world around them if they were heard. Razal assumed that they were afraid of the General's reaction if her were to hear them.

"What is worth this much dawdling?" the emperor demanded as he came toward the scene.

The maids seemed to scatter then, probably fearing for their jobs.

"Welcome home Asch," the man greeted, his expression not changing, "I assume that you've done what you left to do?"

"Jion's dead," Asch stated tonelessly, "Along with his Generals."

"What happened with the fonstones?" the emperor questioned, his expression becoming more intent.

"Vanished," Asch continued as his gaze turned toward Razal's direction, "There should be no more need for concern."

Razal's brows furrowed at what was being said in front of him. There was no more need for concern? Was he serious? He had seen the sky darken and the thing that had fallen from it. That had been what had driven his need to get up. Whatever that had been, it had definitely been connected to the fonstones.

The emperor followed the red haired General's gaze before giving a nod and walking past to the outside. Asch walked toward him, their gazes locked until his hand took hold of Razal's arm.

"Walk," the man commanded and reluctantly Razal followed.

He could feel it; the awkward silence between the two physically similar men. It almost felt like static was running its way over his skin at being so close.

"Where's Scion?" the mahogany haired man asked; his green orbs looks forward.

He didn't know what would happen if their eyes were locked for more than a few moments.

"That stone that fell from the sky was summoned by the fonstones," Asch started; his tone sounding almost strained, "It was the eighth fonstone that was talked about. Everything we were told has been a lie."

Razal's jaw tightened as the red haired General seemed to ignore his question.

"The fonstones have created something that none of us will know what it is or its power. It will need to be found."

He stopped walking and watched as Asch turned back to look at him. In all honesty he didn't care about the fonstones or what they needed to do from here. He had never sided with the city and its emperor. He had sided with Scion.

"Where is she?" he demanded; his gaze challenging the man to not tell him the truth.

"Scion has left to find this… thing. She just left."

"And you just let her go?" he questioned, his frustration sounding in his voice.

She had lost her lover and from what he had seen she had lost her friend as well. The last thing that woman needed was to be walking around alone.

"What else was I supposed to do?" the red haired General questioned, his own anger showing.

Razal shook his head before walking past the man before him. Two people who were not alone… he figured that they would have been smart enough to walk together instead of on separate paths.

"You either should have stopped her or gone with her," he muttered, going to the room he had been in through his stay.

He could hear Asch follow him to the room and stand outside the doorway.

"What are you doing?" the man questioned.

"Go and find whatever the hell the thing in the sky was," he told him, pulling his shirt over his head, "I'll find Scion and we'll come back here."

Grabbing his sword and turning, his deep green orbs locked with green.

"You want to save your lover right? Then find that thing."

Asch stepped to the side and allowed Razal to leave the room. They could go together up until a certain point. Whether or not they would be able to stand each other's company he wasn't sure, but he wasn't about to change his mind. This would be the way forward… the path they would need to take.

_**End of Chapter**_


	10. Chapter 10

_Hey everyone! Finally after a couple years this story has come to the final chapter. I apologize for it taking so long, but it's out and it's done and that's all that really matters. Thank you to everyone that has been with this story since the beginning. Your support has been greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading._

_Please enjoy!_

_**Chapter 10**_

The wind blew through the trees, creating sound in the constant silence that always seemed to be in the area. The birds seemed to have become silent even for it being in a warm season. She welcomed the breeze as it blew through her growing hair. Much time had passed since she had left Asch in the ruins and had parted with her friends. How long it had been she wasn't sure. She had just known that her hair had doubled in length. The red stains that had once been there no longer were and her hair was just straight silver.

Her dull lime green orbs looked to the trees above her as they moved with the warm breeze before something caught the corner of her eye. Glancing in its direction, Scion saw nothing but the trees that fully surrounded her. Her brows narrowed before she saw something move from the other side. As she cast her eyes in that direction, again she saw nothing. Her hand was on its way to the dagger at her waist before it froze in place and her eyes fell forward. They widened, making her take a step backward.

She had spent so much time trying to push every thought about home and the people lost to her away. Sometimes when she would stop to rest her tears would freely fall down her cheeks. This moment was almost no different. Instead of thoughts though, those people seemingly found a way to be standing before her. It made her heart stop beating to see the blond haired man and younger girl standing there. Turning behind her she could see Tepid standing there as well. Why? Why were the people that had once meant the world to her appearing now?

Turning forward, her heart raced within her chest. Her eyes were wide, not knowing what to do.

"Why are you still here Scion?" she heard Tepid ask from behind her, "Why are you the only one still standing?"

"I don't know," she replied lowly, turning her gaze to the ground

Why _was_ she still alive?

"Who's left to stand in for you now?" he continued coldly, "Who else is going to have to die in your place?"

She looked at both Din and Sin with those words. Her gaze was urgent; hoping almost desperately that they didn't feel that way.

"I tried… I tried to defend them," she murmured, "I tried to keep you both from dying…"

"Obviously not hard enough," Tepid stated darkly, "They're dead and you're standing in a forest wandering around aimlessly. Is that how you're going to repay them? By doing nothing?"

Scion turned to look at her accuser; her brows furrowed. She had no words to fight back with.

"All I wanted was to love you and our child," Din's voice said from the side, "All the things I needed were with you, and you took them all away from me."

"No Din!" she pleaded, looking back in his direction, "I was coming to say I was sorry! I would have done anything to have saved you-"

"But you couldn't. You were nowhere to be found because you were with that General you brought home."

She took a step backward, finding his gaze unbearable. His gaze was cold and as if it were full of hatred… She couldn't stand the way it burned at her.

"You slowed Asch down," Sin commented afterward, "You took your time in the market and now I'm frozen inside a stone. If you had of left earlier then I could be with Asch in person right now."

Scion fell to her knees, feeling all their words burn into her body and tear at her heart. She knew they blamed her. She knew that almost every person she came in contact with would be harmed.

"So how can you stand there so proudly?" Tepid asked her, "Why do you get to enjoy that breeze and be alive?"

"Shut up!" she demanded shaking her head.

"You will forever suffer in your life."

"No!" she growled hatefully, getting to her feet.

Standing, she grabbed the sword from her back and threw it forcefully into the tree trunk behind her. Falling back to her knees she covered her eyes and shook her head again.

"Just shut up," she hissed.

There was nothing she could do to change how things were. She knew that there was nowhere else to go, not when she was losing her grip on reality. The guilt was successfully eating away at her. Soon… she was sure that there would be nothing left.

A loud cracking sound caught her attention, causing her to instinctively draw her dagger. As she turned to see who was there, she was forcefully thrown to the side before the tree her sword had hit fell over. Rolling, she crouched into an attack position, looking for the person that had pushed her.

"Is that how you show your thanks?" a familiar voice questioned, "To turn on the person that saved your life?"

Her brows narrowed as she watched the person before her. Was this real? Was this person truly standing there or was is just another figment of her imagination? Tightening her grip on her dagger, Scion slid a foot backward and prepared to strike. Her heart raced in her chest; not sure if she wanted to know if this person was real or not. She didn't know what she would do it he was… how she would feel…

* * *

He watched her; his brows furrowed as she took a step away. The look in her eyes resembled panic. The way she was watching him was showing her confusion; as if she couldn't realize that he was real.

'_What have you been doing, enduring all of this alone?' _he asked himself, letting out a small sigh.

Scion attacked then, swinging her blade swiftly. He quickly drew his sword to defend himself; pushing against her force to use it against her. She may have been quicker with the dagger, but she had become lighter. She was easier to push away.

"Scion wake up!" he demanded, parrying another strike, "Come back to your senses!"

Her reply was to attack again, forcing him to grab the long red scarf around her neck to stop her. He held it tightly as she turned to strike him again and she wrapped herself in it. Standing behind her, he kicked out her knees and knelt down behind her.

The silver haired girl struggled against him; trying to escape the bounds she had made herself. He wrapped his arms tightly around her torso and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Scion calm down. I'm not imaginary," he told her, shaking his head against her, "Accept the reality in front of you."

Scion struggled for a few more moments before she hung her head in what he assumed to be defeat. Her muscles tensed as she shook her head slowly.

"Why?" she murmured lowly, "Why did you come here Razal?"

The mahogany haired man laughed humorlessly to himself for a moment. She had sounded as if she were disappointed.

"I needed to find you," he replied; his arms tightening around her torso.

"I'm guessing Asch made you come?" she stated almost coldly as she once again shook her head, "Did he ever think that I didn't want to be found?"

"I came here because it was what _I_ wanted to do," Razal told her seriously, "That man cannot command me."

It had been almost two years since he had last seen Scion. The state she had been in then hadn't exactly been stable… but it had been better than where she was standing now. He could see that she was wearing down and he had only been with her for a few minutes. How could she possibly think that being alone would make everything better? It could only make everything worse.

Loosening his grip, Razal let Scion go and her scarf fell loose; letting her free. She fell forward, burying her head in her hands as If she had been struck in the back of the head. He raised a brow at her actions, not entirely sure what she was doing.

"Don't say things like that," she pleaded; her voice muffled from the ground, "You should have stayed in Blue Abarath."

"It's only the truth Scion," the mahogany haired man explained, "I have no reason to lie to you."

"Then start to," she murmured, "Everyone I care about dies… If you leave now then maybe you'll stand a chance…"

His brows furrowed at her words and the tone in her voice. This woman was hating herself for things that weren't in her control. She was taking the blame for what could be no different… and she was crying.

Grabbing her wrist, Razal flipped the girl over and pinned her down under his weight. He held both wrists tightly as his deep green orbs looked seriously down at her. He couldn't stand to see her face in so much pain. After everything that Jion had done to her she had never faltered in her hate filled gaze. Not once had she shown a sign of weakness. It wasn't hard for him to see that the person that was before him now was indeed broken. This wasn't something he would stand for.

Razal's grip tightened on Scion's wrists as he put his face closer to hers. He would put a sense of reality back into this person.

"What if I don't want a chance?" he asked her seriously, "What would you be able to do that has never been done before?"

"You could die," Scion stated; her lifeless lime green orbs looking back at him, "I don't know what I would do…"

"You don't even know what to do _now_ Scion. I will not leave you alone just so you can aimlessly wander into nothing!"

Her eyes widened with his words; causing him to push forward. He wanted to be able to strike a nerve.

"I didn't think that you of all people could become so weak," he told her coldly, "Whatever happened to being a person capable of taking damage? Or do you just give up on living because a person is taken away from you?"

He knew that this wouldn't be what her allies would want to see. They would want her to be able to smile and at least live her life.

"Or is that what you want to do? Disappoint him?"

Her brows pushed together at his words and she started to push against his hold on her. The feeling of her pushing back caused him to inwardly smirk. If he had to take a strike from her then he would; so long as a piece of the real Scion came back to reality.

"I thought you would never roll over to die again," he nearly hissed, putting more pressure on her wrists.

That seemed to be the last straw as she managed to bring her foot down onto his before rolling him onto his back. She glared down at him and his smirk managed to find a way to his lips. There was emotion once again showing in her eyes.

"What would you possibly understand?" she asked him; anger lacing her tone, "Why would any of that matter to you of all people?"

"I'm not Asch, Scion," Razal told her plainly, looking up into her eyes, "I understand a lot more than you seem to think I do. Who would be able to understand if not me?"

Scion's hands held onto the base of his as her head leaned forward. When her forehead rested against his own, his heart nearly skipped a beat. For a moment the atmosphere seemed to settle and there was no longer a tension. She had taken a moment to let go. She then got to her feet and went to grab her weapons that were laying on the ground. He laughed inwardly and shook his head. He felt almost disappointed that she had moved.

'_What was I expecting?' _ he asked himself as he sat up; watching as the girl sheathed her sword, _'It's not like that one kiss meant much… at least not enough for her to take one on her own.'_

He got to his feet and waited for the silver haired girl to do something or even say something to him. She looked around her, taking in the area.

"It's in that direction," Razal told her, pointing south-west of where they were, "If that's what you were looking for."

She turned to where he had been pointing before releasing a small sigh. She moved forward first, starting to lead the way and he followed after her. They would go together.

* * *

The breeze was cool against her skin and brought a calming feeling with it. It had soon become night and the two of them had stopped to make camp. The area was still relatively quiet compared to the various areas she had been to before. She could only assume that it was connected to what had fallen from the sky. Whatever that thing was… it was probably something powerful.

Turning her gaze backward, Scion could see Razal sitting against a tree trunk; his deep green orbs looking at her intently. It was something that she had noticed since he had found her. His eyes were always on her being and more times than not they were intent. It was almost as if he was trying to watch everything that she had been doing. When there were moments when reality would falter for her, he would show concern. How could he be able to notice the changes so easily? How was he able to make the feeling vanish soon after it came?

The way her insides would tense when their gazes met was confusing to her. When he had been standing there after the tree had fallen she had wished that he wasn't real. She didn't deserve the right to enjoy a sense of reality. After everything that had happened to the people around her she thought that she had only deserved the right to suffer. To be lost and alone… she couldn't cause harm to people that way.

Closing her lime green eyes, the silver haired girl turned her head forward. She thought that she had accepted the path she had taken when she had left Asch standing in the ruins alone. Now… now she was no longer sure.

"What are you looking for out there?" the mahogany haired man's voice cut through her thoughts.

'_Answers…' _she thought wryly to herself, shaking her head.

"Who knows," she replied, turning her eyes to the stars in the sky.

The tone in his voice caused her heart to skip a beat. The feeling caused her to grip to tighten on the grass beneath her.

"I think _you_ do," Razal stated, taking a seat beside her.

Their green orbs met and his expression pulled her in. He was serious and at the same time somewhat playful. After a few moments, Scion had no choice to turn her gaze away.

"Even if I did," she started quietly, "What makes you think that I would tell you the answer?"

With her question he seemed to shrug and look up at the stars as well.

"I don't know," he admitted honestly, "I guess I just have a little hope that maybe you will be able to give an answer honestly."

'_Stop,'_ she thought, shaking her head back and forth.

If this man continued down this path then she knew she wouldn't be able to let go of her sense of reality. He would be able to convince her that everything could once again be alright. Scion knew it with the beat of her own heart.

"Don't you think that's kind of foolish?" she questioned with a raised brow, "To put faith in someone like me?"

Warmth pressed against her cheek and her lime green orbs turned to the side in surprise. His fingertips were against her jawline and he pulled her to look toward him. Their eyes once again met and she couldn't help but be lost within the deep green pools.

"It's because of the way you are that I think that way," Razal stated seriously; his gaze unmoving on hers, "If you were someone else then I wouldn't be where I am right now."

"Why put in the effort though?" she wondered, pushing her brows together, "I'm broken and lost… where would be the worth in salvaging the pieces?"

His hand traveled to the back of her neck and he pulled her closer as he leant in to her.

"Even if the pieces are small and broken, they'd be worth putting back together to fix the woman they belong to."

'_No…'_ she thought, closing her eyes, feeling them burn with his words.

Her heart raced as he pulled her close enough that she could feel his warm breath close to her cheeks. It was dangerous for him to be that close to her. Not for the sake of his wellbeing or her own, but for her to be this close to the edge.

"Scion," he murmured before his lips pressed against her cheek and he tilted her head up to look at him, "If not for you I would still be buried under Jion's lies. It's because of you that I'm free."

Opening her eyes, she looked up into Razal's gaze and felt her stomach twist with his expression. His eyes were filled with something that she used to recognize… a longing she hadn't witnessed in a long time. The feeling brought tears to her eyes and she felt herself cave into this reality.

All the time since Din's death she had denied the desire to be held in the comfort of someone's arms; pushed it from her being. In truth it was what she wanted almost more than anything. To truly be loved by someone… to have a family… to no longer have to live years feeling like there's no reason to continue. It was all here, residing within this mahogany haired man.

Her hands lifted to the fabric at his torso as he pulled her close and took her lips with his. Her heart burned within her chest at the feeling; racing with a sense of reason. Releasing her, Razal pulled her into a tight embrace and she could hear that his own heart was racing. She realized that she had been watching this man even before Din's death. At the time she had only found him interesting… now it was merely a little more than that.

"I may not be a man as Din was," he started lowly, his hold tightening around her, "but I hope that I can still reach where he was in your eyes."

"Din was an idiot," Scion stated with a small laugh, shaking her head, "I'm not about to start comparing the two of you."

Razal let out a small laugh before leaning his head down into hers and his breath was warm against her ear.

"What I'm getting at," he started; sounding – if only a little – amused, "is that I love you."

Scion's grip tightened on his shirt as she nodded her head. Her feelings may not have been the exact same within the current moment, but she knew that the feeling would become stronger.

"Hopefully soon I will too."

"That's good enough for me," he stated lowly, tilting her chin upward and capturing her lips once again.

Whether or not she deserved to be where she was Scion wasn't sure, but what was clear now was their goal. She now had a reason to continue looking or the stone and to return to Blue Abarath. A hand had reached out and saved her from the darkness… together they could start gathering the pieces.

_**Epilogue**_

He paused in his steps as he heard or rather felt something unnatural. Its presence felt like it didn't belong to the area and at the same time it felt familiar to him. His brows pushing together, Asch walked forward on the path he had been following for some time. He had split off from Razal months ago, leaving him to find what they needed. He had been alone since then; following the path the stone had seemed to follow.

As he continued, he could feel the presence growing stronger; drawing his attention even more. Pushing through a line of trees he came to stand in a small opening in the forest. His green orbs looked over the small area, only to feel a pulse throughout him as they landing on the piece of crystalized stone embedded into the ground. There it was after almost two years of searching… the small seed like stone that could change everything they knew…

_**End of Story**_

_Thanks for your support!_

_halfdemon-kai_


End file.
